Dubiel leads Cornell to team title in Alex Lagowitz Memorial; Villanova finishes 10th

   Cornell rode a strong showing in an opening 36-hole double round to its first team victory in three years as the Big Red captured the team title in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational hosted by Colgate at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y.

   It was the opening of the 2019-2020 college golf season for the 16-team field and Cornell had the look of an Ivy League contender with its showing.

   The Big Red opened with the best team round of the tournament, a 2-under-par 286 over the 6,834-yard, par-72 Seven Oaks layout, Saturday morning. It added a 2-over 290 in the afternoon which gave the Big Red an even-par 576 total and an eight-shot lead over Ivy League rival Yale.

   Cornell struggled a little in Sunday’s final round with a 16-over 304, but held on for a three-shot victory over hard-charging Bucknell with a 16-over 880 total.

   It was Cornell’s first team victory since it won its Cornell Invitational in September of 2016. It’s the Big Red’s first team win away from home since the 2007-’08 season.

   Bucknell made up 15 shots on Cornell with what was easily the best team effort in Sunday’s final round, a 1-over 289 that left the Bison with a 19-over 883 total. Bucknell had opened with rounds of 299 and 295 in Saturday’s double round.

   Seton Hall closed with a solid 10-over 298 to finish third with a 21-over 885 total. Yale, after sticking close to Cornell in Saturday’s double round with scores of 3-over 291 and 5-over 293, struggled to a final round of 303 to end up alone in fourth place at 23-over 887.

   Another Ivy League entry, Columbia, and Lafayette, which had won the team title in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial a year ago, finished another four shots behind Yale in a tie for fifth place at 27-over 891. The Lions struggled a little in the final round with a 304 while the Leopards made a big move up the leaderboard with their final round of 5-over 293.

   It was the season opener for Jim Wilkes and Villanova, which finished 10^th with a 33-over 897 total. After opening with a 303 Saturday morning, the Wildcats put together a solid second round of 5-over 293 before closing with a 301 in Sunday’s final round.

   Cornell was led by Charlie Dubiel, a junior from Juno Beach, Fla. who finished alone in fourth place with an even-par 216 total. Dubiel sparked the Big Red’s fast start with an opening round of 3-under 69 and a 1-under 71 that had him out in front in the individual standings at 4-under 140. He backed off in the final round with a 76.

   I suspect the team trophy was more than enough of a consolation prize for Dubiel.

   The individual crown went to Rhode Island’s Chris Francoeur, a junior from Amesbury, Mass. who ran away from the field with a sparkling 4-under 68 in a final round during which many players in the field struggled with the Seven Oaks layout.

   Francoeur had opened with rounds of 71 and 70 and trailed Dubiel by a shot, but his sparkling final round gave him a 7-under 209 and a six-shot victory.

   Backing up Dubiel for Cornell was Jack Casler, a senior from Garden City, N.Y. who finished in the group tied for seventh at 2-over 218. Casler matched Dubiel’s opening-day performance with rounds of 69 and 71 before posting a final round of 76.

   Gus Lascola, a sophomore from Durham, N.C., finished in the group tied for 45^th at 228 after posting a final round of 4-over 76. Josh Landmark, a freshman from Hinsdale, Ill., had a throw-out 82 in the final round to end up in the group tied for 59^th at 230, but his pair of 74s in Saturday’s double-round had a lot to do with the eight-shot lead the Big Red built.

   Sam King, a freshman from Ponte Vedra, Fla., closed with a 77 to finish among the group tied for 72^nd at 233. King, however, contributed a solid 1-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Lafayette got an outstanding individual performance from sophomore Ryan Tall, the former Conestoga standout and the winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 2018 Junior Boys’ Championship.

   After opening with a 4-over 76, Tall fired the best round of the tournament, a sizzling 6-under 66 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. He closed with a 1-over 73 and shared second place with Rider’s Jake Sollon, a senior who was a member the 2015 Peters Township team that was the PIAA Class AAA runnerup, at 1-under 215.

   Sollon opened with a 1-over 73 and added a pair of 1-under 71s to get his piece of runnerup honors.

Sharing fifth place at 1-over 217 were Seton Hall’s Gregor Tait, a junior from England, and Yale’s Teddy Zinsner, a junior from Alexandria, Va. Tait closed with an even-par 72 while Zinsner was just a shot out of the lead after carding rounds of 70 and 71 Saturday before closing with a 4-over 76.

   Zinsner finished in a tie for third in last spring’s Ivy League Championship at Hidden Creek Golf Club at the Jersey Shore.

   Villanova was led by Noah Peck, a sophomore from Hunt Valley, Md. who finished among the group tied for 18^th at 6-over 222. After opening with a 3-over 75, Peck, making his Villanova debut, fired a solid 2-under 70 Saturday afternoon before closing with a 77.

   Jack O’Hara, a sophomore from Loudonville, N.Y., ended up in the group tied for 21^st at 223 after his worst round of the weekend, a 5-over 77, in the final round. Matt Minerva, a freshman from Elmsford, N.Y., closed with a 4-over 76 and finished in the group tied for 32^nd in his Villanova debut with a 226 total. Minerva contributed a 1-under 71 to the Wildcats’ solid team showing in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Sophomore Danny Dougherty, a Tower Hill product, had his best round of the weekend, a final-round 74, to finish in a tie for 52^nd at 229. Mark Benevento, the only senior on the Villanova roster out of Ocean City, N.J., also closed with his best round of the weekend, a 2-over 74, to land among the group tied for 68^th at 232.

   Contributing to Bucknell’s finishing flourish was junior Chris Tanabe, a Quaker Valley product who was so impressive in winning the Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in July. Tanabe fired a final round of 1-under 71 to end up among the group tied for 12^th at 4-over 220.

   Senior Peter Bradbeer, a Friends’ Central product and winner of a GAP major, the 2017 Patterson Cup, carded a final round of 3-over 75 for the Bison and finished among the group tied for 30^th at 225.