Leonard, Nicholas help Yale pull away to claim Ivy League title at Stonewall

   In the end, Yale was simply not going to be denied.

   It didn’t matter how hard the golf course was or how hard the wind blew or how tough the competition was. This was the Bulldogs’ year from beginning to end.

    With a virtuoso performance on a virtuoso golf course, the Old Course at Stonewall, Yale blew away the field with a final round of 2-over 282 over Tom Doak’s 6,866-yard, par-70 masterpiece in northwest Chester County to cruise to 22-shot victory in the Ivy League Championship Sunday.

   Harvard had pulled even with the Bulldogs with a big effort in the second round. But the Crimson, the two-time defending Ivy champion, were no match for Yale on this day. With Eoin Leonard, a junior from England, and James Nicholas, a junior from Scarsdale, N.Y., sharing medalist honors at 9-over 219, Yale’s spectacular final round left it with a 40-over 880 total.

   Dartmouth surged past Harvard into second with the second-best team round of the tournament, a 3-over 283 that gave the Big Green a 62-over 902 total. Harvard struggled a little in the final round with a 305 to finish third at 903, a shot behind Dartmouth. Reinforcements are on the way in Cambridge, though, as the Inter-Ac League’s best player, Penn Charter’s Brian Isztwan, will join the program this summer.

   Cornell was another shot behind Harvard in fourth at 904 after a final-round 298. Penn had its best round of the weekend, a 15-over 295, to finish fifth, two shots behind Cornell at 906.

   It was another 12 shots back to Brown in sixth after a final-round 300 left it with a 918 total. Princeton finished seventh, three shots behind Brown at 921 after a final-round 300. Columbia finished eighth at 944 after a final-round 304, the Lions’ best round of the tournament.

   With some actual spring weather showing up, Nicholas tamed the Old Course with a 2-under 68, the low round of the weekend matched by only one other player. Leonard was nearly as good with a 1-under 69 – only four players broke par at the Old Course for the weekend – to join Nicholas atop the final leaderboard at 219.

   Teddy Zinser, a freshman at Yale from Alexandria, Va., was one of three players who finished tied for fifth at 222. Zinser posted a solid final round of 2-over 72. Will Bernstein, a senior from New York, N.Y., made it four Yalies in the top 10 as a final-round 77 left him at 225.

   Henry Cassriel, a senior from Orinda, Calif., saved his best for last, a solid 3-over 73 that was Yale’s final counter of the day and left him tied for 15^th at 227.

   Defending individual champion Mike Graboyes, a senior at Cornell from Wachtung, N.J., nearly repeated as his affinity for the Old Course showed with a final-round 70 that left him just a shot behind the co-champions at 10-over 220.

   Graboyes has had quite a year since winning the Ivy title last spring and being invited to represent Cornell as an individual in the NCAA Stanford Regional. He came to Stonewall last summer for a U.S. Amateur qualifier and earned a ticket to Los Angeles for a couple of rounds at Riviera Country Club and Bel-Air Country Club.

   Brown’s Kevil Li, a senior from Canada, carried a two-shot lead into the final round, but faltered a little with a final-round 76. Still, his 11-over 221 gave him a fourth-place finish.

   Li’s teammate, Sasha Lobel, a junior from Pittsburgh, matched Nicholas for the low round of the tournament, a sparkling 2-under 68 that left him in the group tied for fifth at 222. Sent me scrambling to the list of recent PIAA Championships and, sure enough, there he was, a two-time PIAA qualifier in 2013 and 2014, his final two years at Taylor Allderdice.

   The final member of the trio tied at 222 was Dartmouth’s Ian Kelsey, a senior from Deerfield, Ill. who posted a solid 1-over 71 in the final round. Like a lot of players in the field, Kelsey got beat up in Friday’s tough conditions, carding a 79. But he rebounded with a 72 Saturday before going one better Sunday.

   Penn was led by Mitchell Cornell, a freshman from Incline Village, Nev. who grabbed the individual lead with a strong 2-over 72 in the cold and wind of Friday. After falling back with a 79 Saturday, Cornell finished up with a 4-over 74 to finish tied for 10^th in his first Ivy League Championship at 225.

   Josh Goldenberg, a junior from Scarsdale, N.Y., finished in the group tied for 15^th at 227 for the Quakers after a final-round 76. Carter Thompson, a senior from Tallahassee, Fla., played a little more like himself with a 1-over 71 in the final round to finish alone in 19th place at 228.

   Zareh Kaloustian, a junior from Sherman Oaks, Calif., struggled to a final-round 81 to finish 26^th at 233. Amay Poria, a senior form Morgan Hill, Calif., had his best round of the weekend, a 4-over 74, in Sunday’s final round to finish 32^nd at 240.

   Princeton senior Michael Davis, the former Malvern Prep standout playing in his final Ivy League Championship, carded a solid 5-over 75 to finish in the group tied for 24^th at 232. Davis has been a fixture in the Princeton lineup for the last four years, the kind of player you know you can always rely on.

   Obviously, I’m a big fan of the golf course, a club that undoubtedly gained a few more fans this weekend. A big shout-out to the membership at Stonewall for giving up their golf course for what, the second nice weekend of 2018. I’m sure the players really enjoyed the opportunity to take on the challenge of playing one of the really great American golf courses.