Duke isn't bothered by the weather at Princeton Invitational

   The first day of the Princeton Invitational, hosted by the Tigers Saturday at Springdale Golf Club, couldn’t have been a whole lot of fun.

   The best of conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region Saturday was maybe 40 degrees with an intermittent cold rain -- with a stray snowflake now and again -- and a little wind. The original schedule was for 36 holes to be played Saturday, but that was reduced to 18 holes and the event shortened from 54 holes to 36 holes.

   The terrible conditions didn’t seem to bother Duke much. The Blue Devils, whose No. 20 ranking in the latest Golfstat rankings is easily the best in the field, had four of the seven players who broke 70 at the 6,424-yard, par-71 Springdale layout on their way to a 10-under 274 total that was 12 shots clear of Columbia in second place.

   Duke’s Jake Shuman, a sophomore from Needham, Mass., fired a 6-under 65 to grab a three-shot lead over two of his teammates in the individual standings.

   Max Greyserman, a junior from Short Hills, N.J. and a product of nearby Peddie School, and Alex Smalley, a freshman from Wake Forest, N.C., are tied for second after carding 3-under 68s.    

   Duke's Alexander Matlari, a junior from Germany who competed as an individual, was one four players tied for fourth at 2-under 69.

   One of those four was Columbia’s Mert Selamet, a junior from Dublin, Ohio. His 69 was highlighted by his first career ace on the par-3 13^th hole. Selamet and the Lions posted a solid 2-over 286 to lead the rest of the field.

   Harvard and Yale are tied for third at 5-over 289 and host Princeton and Georgetown are tied for eighth at 292. Penn is tied for ninth at 297 and Saint Joseph’s and Temple are tied for 11^th at 301 in the 15-team field.

   Harvard was led by Rohan Ramnath, a senior from Weston, Fla. who was also in that group at 2-under 69. Rounding out that foursome was Georgetown’s Kevin Jackson, a freshman from Atlanta.

   With Princeton and Georgetown in the field, it makes it another chapter in the rivalry between the Tigers’ Michael Davis and the Hoyas’ Cole Berman. They were Inter-Ac League rivals when Davis was at Malvern Prep and Berman was a top performer for some powerhouse Haverford School teams. Last summer they were the finalists in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s BMW Amateur Championship at Llanerch Country Club with Berman taking the scheduled 36-hole final, 6 and 4, to claim his second GAP major crown.

   Davis got the best of Berman individually Saturday as the sophomore led the Tigers with an even-par 71 that has him tied for 10^th in the individual standings. Berman, also a sophomore,  shot a 75 and is tied for 38^th. But their respective teams are tied for eighth, so it will be interesting how that little team battle turns out.

   Princeton also got a 1-over 72 from Marc Hedrick, a sophomore from Encinitas, Calif., and a 1-over 73 from Eric Mitchell, a sophomore from Winston-Salem, N.C.

   It was a little bit of a disappointing day for Temple senior Brandon Matthews, winner of two of the last three Philadelphia Open titles. Matthews, the 2010 PIAA champion as a junior at Pittston, had a 77 and is tied for 73^rd. The Owls were led by Trey Wren, a freshman from Suffolk, Va. who carded a 1-over 72 and is in the group tied for 16^th.

   Temple freshman Sam Soeth, the former Marple Newtown standout, competed as an individual and his 4-over 76 landed him in a group tied for 47^th.