Lafayette built a big lead in Saturday’s double round behind
individual champion Brendan Cronin and cruised to the title in the Alex
Lagowitz Memorial Invitational hosted by Colgate, which wrapped up Sunday at
Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y.
It was also a nice season debut for Ben Feld’s Drexel team,
which was 10 shots behind the Leopards in second place and a shot ahead of
Cornell.
Cronin, a sophomore from Sutton, Mass., opened with a
6-under-par 66 over the 6,834-yard, pars-72 Seven Oaks layout and added a
3-under 69 Saturday afternoon to help Lafayette build a 19-shot lead in the
team chase.
Cronin added a 1-under 71 Sunday for a 10-under 206 title
that gave him a commanding nine-shot margin of victory over Binghamton’s Justin
Lane, a sophomore from Woodstock, N.Y., and Cornell’s Jack Casler, a junior
from Garden City, N.Y.
Boosted by Cronin’s sparkling 66, the Leopards put up a
9-under 279 in the opening round and added a 1-under 287 Saturday afternoon
before finishing up with a 301 for a 3-over 867 total.
Drexel struggled a little in Saturday afternoon’s second
round with a 300, but posted a 1-over 289 in the opening round and matched par
Sunday with a 288 to finish 10 shots behind Lafayette at 13-over 877.
Cornell finished up with a solid 1-over 289 to take third, a
shot behind the Dragons in third at 878. Seton Hall somehow managed to shoot
three straight 5-over 293s to take fourth at 15-over 879. Binghamton was three
shots behind Seton Hall in fifth at 18-over 882.
Lehigh was another shot behind Binghamton in sixth at 883
after a final round of 10-over 298. It was another three shots back to Penn,
which took seventh in the 12-team field at 886. The Quakers opened with a
5-over 293 and added a 7-over 295 Saturday afternoon before finishing up with a
10-over 298.
Backing up Cronin for Lafayette was Kaz Osawa, a freshman
from Belgium, who finished among the group tied for 11th at 2-over
218. He opened with a sparkling 4-under 68 and backed off a little after that
with a 2-over 74 Saturday afternoon and a final-round 76.
Will Halamanaris, a junior from Crownsville, Md., finished
in the group tied for 34th at 224 after a final-round 78 and
sophomore Cole Berger, a Westtown School product, was another shot behind Halamandaris
in the group tied for 37th at 225. Berger played some really solid
golf in Saturday’s double round with an even-par 72 and a 1-under 71 before
cooling off with a final-round 82.
Freshman Ryan Tall, a Conestoga product who is coming off a
really strong summer highlighted by a win in the Golf Association of
Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship, finished in the group tied for 54th
at 230 as he sandwiched a 78 with a pair of 76s. The final-round 76 was a
counter for the Leopards.
Binghamton’s Lane opened with a 68 and backed off a little
Saturday afternoon with a 75 before matching par in the final round with a 72
to earn his share of second at 1-under 215. Cornell’s Gasler moved up the
leaderboard with a final round of 3-under 69 to also land on 215.
Drexel’s Angelo Giantsopoulos, a sophomore from Canada,
Penn’s Josh Goldenberg, a senior from Scarsdale, N.Y., and Seton Hall’s Deven
Ramachanrdran, a freshman from San Rafael, Calif., shared fourth place, each
ending up at even-par 216.
Giantsopoulos shot up the leaderboard with the best round of
the day Sunday, a sparkling 5-under 67. Goldenberg opened with a 1-under 71 and
matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 1-over 73.
After opening with a 75, Ramachandran carded a 1-under 71 Saturday afternoon
and broke par again in the final round with a 2-under 70.
Feld has assembled a nice group behind Giantsopolous at
Drexel, which will defend its City 6 Invitational title in November at Galloway
National Golf Club in Galloway Township, N.J.
Stephen Cerbara captured the title in the 2015 PIAA Class
AAA Championship as a senior at Holy Ghost Prep. He headed to Furman, but came
back home and finished his first year of college at Penn State’s Abington
campus.
My experience has been that people who win PIAA
championships can play a little. Perhaps the names of Arnold Palmer, Jay Sigel and
Jim Furyk ring a bell. Cerbara struggled a little in Saturday afternoon’s
second round with a 78, but opened with an even-par 72 and finished with a
1-under 71 to finish among the group tied for 21st at 221.
All junior Connor Schmidt, a Peters Township product, did
this summer is win the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Amateur Championship at
Sunnehanna Golf Club, an A.W. Tillinghast classic in Johnstown. Schmidt also
struggled in the second round with a 79, but opened with a 3-under 69 and
finished up with a 2-over 74 to end up in the group tied for 26th at
222.
Junior Alex Butler, a member of St. Joseph Prep’s 2014 PIAA
Class AAA championship team as a junior, struggled a little in the final round
with a 77, but was just a shot behind Schmidt in the group tied for 29th
at 223.
Senior Mike Cook, a former Conestoga standout, rounded out
the Drexel lineup as he sandwiched a 75 with a pair of 76s for a 227 total that
left him in the group tied for 44th at 227. Both of his last two
rounds were counters.
Backing up Goldenberg for Penn was Mark Haghani, a freshman
from Wilson, Wyo. who fired a 2-under 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before
going on to join the group tied for 29th at 223.
Mitchell Cornell, a sophomore from Incline Village, Nev. who
earned a top-10 finish in the Ivy League Championship at Stonewall as a
freshman in the spring, bounced back from an 80 in the second round with a
2-under 70 in the final round to end up in the group tied for 37th
at 225.
Carter Thompson, a senior from Tallahassee, Fla, finished
among the group tied for 49th at 228 after a final-round 78 and
Zareh Kaloustian, a senior from Sherman Oaks, Calif., rounded out the Penn
lineup by finishing tied for 61st at 213 after a final-round 81.
Bucknell shared 11th place with Colgate’s B team
at 902. Junior Peter Bradbeer, the 2017 winner of the Patterson Cup, a GAP
major championship, had the Bison’s fourth-best score as the Merion Golf Club
member carded a final-round 74 to finish in the group tied for 61st
at 231.
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