Saint Joseph's Matt earns runnerup finish in Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate; Princeton takes team title

 

   Saint Joseph’s sophomore Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wissahickon, had the best performance of his career at Hawk Hill as he earned a runnerup finish in the individual chase in the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Course in Williamsburg, Va.

   Matt opened with a sparkling 3-under 68 over the 6,817-yard, par-71 Golden Horseshoe layout as a Monday double round teed off with windy conditions contributing to some high scores. Matt added a 1-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round in calmer conditions and closed with a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s final round for a 3-under 210 total.

   There was no catching Longwood’s Justin LaRue, a junior from South Chesterfield, Va. who cruised to the individual crown with a 10-under 203 total. LaRue matched Matt’s opening round of 3-under 68, was even better with a 4-under 67 in Monday afternoon’s second round and finished up with another solid 68.

   Reigning Ivy League champion Princeton, behind William Huang, a junior from Exeter, N.H. who finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings, captured the team crown with a 5-over 857 total.

   The Tigers trailed George Mason by 14 shots following an opening-round 301, but surged to the top of the leaderboard with an 8-under 276, easily the best team round of the tournament, in Monday afternoon’s second round. Princeton finished up with a solid 4-under 280.

   Huang contributed a sparkling 3-under 68 in Princeton’s second-round surge after he had opened with a 1-over 72. Huang closed with a 2-over 73 to get a share of fourth place with a George Mason’s Vijay Powell, a freshman from Midlothian, Va., each landing on even-par 213.

   George Mason, an Atlantic 10 representative, finished five shots behind Princeton in second place in the team standings with a 10-over 862 total.

   After opening with a solid 3-over 287 in Monday morning’s tough conditions, the Patriots added an 8-over 292 in Monday afternoon’s second round that left them two shots behind Princeton going into the final round. George Mason finished up with a solid 1-under 283, but couldn’t quite catch the Tigers.

   George Mason was led by Nikita Gubenko, a senior from Great Falls, Va. who finished a shot behind St. Joe’s Matt in third place with a 2-under 211 total and Powell, who shared fourth with Princeton’s Huang.

   Gubenko opened with a 3-under 68 and added a 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71. Powell finished strong with a 3-under 68 to get his piece of fourth place. He had opened with a 2-over 73 before adding a 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Longwood, behind individual champion LaRue, finished eight shots behind George Mason in third place with an 18-over 870 total. The Lancers, out of the Big South, opened with a 9-over 293 and added a 3-over 287 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 6-over 290.

   Navy, a Patriot League entry, was another 10 shots behind Longwood in fourth place with a 29-over 880 total as the Midshipmen opened with a solid 4-over 288 in the opening round’s windy conditions and added back-to-back 296s in the final two rounds.

   Saint Joseph’s shared fifth place with Atlantic 10 rival St. Bonaventure and William & Mary, out of the Coastal Athletic Conference, each landing on 31-over 883.

   The Hawks, behind Matt, opened with a 6-over 290 and added a 297 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 296. After opening with a 297, the Bonnies added a 294 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with an 8-over 292. The Tribe bounced back from an opening-round 304 with a 294 in Monday afternoon’s second before matching par in a solid finish with a 284 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Villanova had staged a remarkable rally in the final round a year ago to capture the team crown in the Golden Horseshoe, the Wildcats’ first tournament win in four years.

   Villanova bounced back from an opening-round 305 with a solid 8-over 292 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 302 to finish in a tie for ninth place in the 12-team field with Farleigh Dickinson, a Northeast Conference representative, with a 47-over 899 total.

   Backing up Huang for Princeton was Jackson Fretty, a senior from Cos Cob, Conn. who fin;ished in a tie for seventh place with a 2-over 215 total. After opening with a 4-over 75, Fretty contributed an even-par 71 to the Tigers’ surge in Monday afternoon’s second round and closed with a 2-under 69.

   A couple of freshmen, Charlie Palmer of Paradise Valley, Ariz. and Tommy Frist of Nashville, Tenn., finished inside the top 14 for Princeton.

   After struggling to a 6-over 77 in the opening round, Palmer was the low Tiger in Monday afternoon’s second round with a sparkling 4-under 67 before closing with a 2-over 73 to finish in a tie for 12^th place with a 4-over 217 total. Frist also struggled a little in the opening round with a 6-over 77, but bounced back with a 1-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second before matching par in the final round with a 71 to finish among a trio of players tied for 14^th place with a 5-over 218 total.

   Rounding out the Princeton lineup was reigning Ivy League individual champion Riccardo Fantinelli, a sophomore from Italy who finished among the group tied for 30^th place with a 10-over 223 total. Fantinelli struggled in Monday’s double round, adding a 79 in the afternoon to his opening round of 6-over 77, but he delivered a critical 4-under 67 in the final round with the Tigers trying to hold George Mason.

   Fantinelli went 5-under at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn. to capture the individual crown in the Ivy League Championship last spring with Fretty finishing in third place and Huang landing in a tie for fourth.

   Leading the way for Villanova was Ryan Pamer, a sophomore from Hudson, Ohio who had a second straight strong performance at the Golden Horseshoe as he finished alone in sixth place, a shot behind Princeton’s Huang and George Mason’s Powell, with a 1-over 214 total.

   Pamer, who finished in fourth place in leading the Wildcats to the team crown a year ago, opened with a 3-over 74 and added a solid 3-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-over 72.

   Joining Princeton’s Fretty in a tie for seventh place at 2-over was William & Mary’s Logan Hunter, a junior from Tampa, Fla. Hunter bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 76 with a 3-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in final round with a 71.

   Longwood’s Zane Moore, a junior from Mineral, Va. competing as an individual, had the best individual round of the tournament, a 5-under 66 in the final round to finish in a tie for ninth place with Navy’s Ben Valdez, a junior from Stevenson Ranch, Calif., and St. Bonaventure’s Lance Sininger, a graduate student from Georgetown, Ohio, at 3-over 216.

   Moore had opened with a 5-over 76 before adding a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Valdez opened with a solid 2-under 69 and added a 4-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-over 72. Sininger matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 1-over 72 before finishing up with a 73.

   Backing up Matt for Saint Joseph’s was junior Thomas Larkin, a former Cardinal O’Hara standout who finished among the group tied for 26^th place with a 9-over 222 total. Larkin opened with a solid 1-over 72, but struggled a little in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Sophomore Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus, finished in a tie for 36^th place with a 225 total as he got off to a good start with a 2-under 69, struggled to an 82 in Monday afternoon’s second round and closed with a 3-over 74.

   Freshman Noah Moelter, who capped his scholastic career at Central Bucks South by finishing in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship, bounced back from an opening-round 81 with the best individual round of the tournament for a Hawk, a sparkling 4-under 67, before closing with an 8-over 79 to finish in a tie for 42^nd place with a 227 total.

   Rounding out St. Joe’s lineup was senior Kevin Smith, the senior leader on Strath Haven’s 2019 Central League and District One Class AAA championship team, as he finished alone in 76^th place with a 253 total. Smith struggled to a 93 in the opening round, but bounced back with an 81 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 79.

   I suspect Smith has assumed the same leadership role with the Hawks that he did with Strath Haven in the fall of 2019.

   Ryan Gorman, a senior from Greenville, S.C., competed as an individual for St. Joe’s and finished among the group tied for 64^th place with a 238 total. Gorman added a solid 2-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 81 before closing with a 82.

   Backing up Pamer for Villanova was Jackson Lehner, a junior from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. who finished in the group tied for 33^rd place with a 224 total as he sandwiched a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 75s.

   P.J. O’Rourke, a graduate student from Paramus, N.J., finished among the group tied for 38^th place with a 226 total as he added back-to-back 4-over 75s in the final two rounds to his opening-round 76.

   Peter Weaver, Villanova’s senior standout from Frontenac, Mo., finished in the group tied for 58^th place with a 235 total as he sandwiched a 4-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 80s.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was Josh Lavely, a sophomore from Kewadin, Mich. who finished in a tie for 72^nd place with a 244 total. Lavely struggled at Golden Horseshoe, posting back-to-back 80s in the final two rounds after opening with an 84.

   Peter Barros, a freshman from Bethesda, Md., competed as an individual and finished alone in 67^th place with a 239 total. Barros opened with a 3-over 74, but struggled after that, adding an 83 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with an 82.

   Navy got a strong showing from sophomore Jack Tarzy, a Medford, N.J. resident who frequently showed up on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards during his career as a junior. Tarzy, who played scholastically at The Hun School of Princeton, added a solid 1-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 2-over 73 before closing with a 75 to finish in the group tied for 14^th place with a 5-over 218 total.

   Another Philly Junior Tour alum, Winston Kelenc-Blank, is a freshman on the Lafayette roster and he finished among the group tied for 53^rd place with a 233 total. Kelenc-Blank, who played scholastically at Peddie School and Choate Rosemary Hall, opened with a 1-over 72, but struggled a little after that, adding an 80 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with an 81.

   The Leopards, a Patriot League entry, finished last of the 12 teams with a 906 total.