Reigning Ivy League champion Yale dominated the Cornell
Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at
Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. with a field that included three City Six
teams, two of which, Saint Joseph’s and Temple, were making their 2018-’19
season debuts.
Yale, coming off a tie for second in The Doc Gimmler at
Bethpage State Park’s Red Course last weekend, played two really strong rounds
in Saturday’s double round, the Bulldogs posting an 8-under 276 in the opening
round over the 6,904-yard, par-71 Robert Trent Jones layout and a 6-under 278
in the second round to take command of the tournament.
Yale, led by individual champion Eoin Leonard, a senior from
England, finished up with a 1-over 285, the second-best round of the day, in
Sunday’s final round for a 13-under 839 total.
Runnerup Dartmouth matched par in the final round with a 284
for the day’s best round, but finished 24 shots behind its Ivy League rival at
11-over 863. The Big Green opened up with a 2-under 282, but fell back in
Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 297.
It was a solid third-place finish in the first outing of the
season for Saint Joseph’s, which ended up two shots behind Dartmouth at 13-over
865. The Hawks opened with a solid 3-under 281 before tacking on a pair of
8-over 292s.
Bucknell sandwiched a 1-over 285 with a pair of 292s to
finish four shots behind Saint Joe’s in fourth at 17-over 869. St. Bonaventure
opened with an even-par 284 before adding rounds of 296 and 290 to take fifth
at 18-over 870.
Defending team champion Temple opened its season with a
decent showing, Brian Quinn’s Owls finishing alone in sixth at 21-over 873.
Temple opened with a 4-over 288 and added a 6-over 290 Saturday afternoon
before finishing up with a 295 on a Robert Trent Jones layout that seemed to
play a little tougher for everybody for Sunday’s final round.
Penn, coming off a seventh-place finish in last weekend’s
Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational, ended up in seventh again, the Quakers
finishing up with a 299 Sunday that gave them an 874 total. Penn’s best round
came in Saturday morning’s opening round when it carded a 3-over 287.
Penn brought an entire B team along and the second string
finished last in the 15-team field at 919, its best round a 300 in Saturday
afternoon’s second round. Not a bad idea by Jason Calhoun, the men’s coach at
Penn. A lot of teams bring an extra player or two to compete as individuals.
Why not bring an entire second team if the golf course can handle it and see
how players react under tournament conditions?
Leonard and James Nicholas, a senior from Scarsdale, N.Y.,
were the co-medalists when Yale captured the Ivy League crown in the spring at
Stonewall’s Old Course and they’ve picked up right where they left off.
Leonard captured the individual title in a playoff with
Siena’s Jared Nelson, a freshman from Rutland, Vt., after each landed on
6-under 207 for the weekend. After opening with an even-par 71, Leonard surged
into contention with a sparkling 6-under 66 Saturday afternoon. He finished up
with a 1-under 70 Sunday.
Nelson opened his college career in fairly spectacular
fashion with a pair of 4-under 67s in Saturday’s double round. He cooled off
with a 2-over 73 Sunday, which allowed Leonard to catch him.
Nicholas, coming off a tournament win in The Doc Gimmler at
Bethpage Red last weekend, backed up Leonard by finishing alone in fifth at
3-under 210. Nicholas closed with a 2-under 69, one of only three sub-70 rounds
recorded Sunday.
Teddy Zinsner, a sophomore from Alexandria, Va. who finished
fourth in The Doc Gimmler competing as an individual, made the first five this
week and finished tied for eighth at even-par 213. Zinsner opened with solid
rounds of 69 and 70 Saturday before backing off a little with a final-round 74.
Sean Yi, a sophomore from Auburn, Wash., contributed a
sizzling 6-under 65 to Yale’s fast start before cooling off with rounds of 75
and 77 to finish tied for 19th at 4-over 217. Darren Lin, a freshman
from Chino Hills, Calif., gave Yale five players inside the top 30 as he
finished in the group tied for 27th at 219, his weekend highlighted
by a 1-over 72 Saturday afternoon that was a counter for the Bulldogs.
Matt Smith competed as an individual for Yale and finished
in the group tied for 56th at 226, including a 1-over 72 in
Saturday’s second round.
Smith doesn’t appear on the Yale roster, but I’m going to
guess he is the Matt Smith I looped for in a practice round for a U.S. Amateur
qualifier on Stonewall’s Old Course in the summer of 2017. Smith, from the
Wilmington, Del. area, is a nice player and probably got an opportunity to
travel with the team to see how he would fare in a tournament situation.
Temple’s John Barone, a redshirt senior from Dunmore, had a
second straight strong showing on a Robert Trent Jones layout that obviously
fits his eye. The runnerup a year ago, Barone got a share of third with
Dartmouth’s Mark Turner, a freshman from Gloucester, Mass., as each finished at
4-under 209.
Barone got off to a great start with a pair of 3-under 68s
and trailed Siena’s Nelson by just two shots after Saturday’s double round
before carding a final round of 2-over 73 Sunday. After opening with a 4-under
67, Turner backed off a little in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 73
before finishing up with a 2-under 69.
Binghamton’s Justin Lane, a sophomore from Woodstock, N.Y.,
finished alone in sixth at 2-under 211, a shot behind Yale’s Nicholas. Lane,
who finished tied for second in last weekend’s Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational,
surged into contention with a 5-under 66 over the Robert Trent Jones layout in
Saturday afternoon’s second round before falling back a little with a
final-round 74.
Dartmouth’s Sam Ohno, a sophomore from Ponte Vedra Beach,
Fla. competing as an individual, finished alone in seventh at 1-under 212. Ohno
opened with a sparkling 5-under 66 before falling back with rounds of 72 and
74.
Saint Joe’s got a strong showing from its top two players,
senior Ross Pilliod, a Berks Catholic product, and Michael O’Brien, a junior
from West Chester, Ohio, as well as a nice debut from freshman J.T. Spina, who
reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of his last two seasons at Pope
John Paul II.
Pilliod finished in the group tied for eighth at even-par
213. He opened with a 1-over 72 and added a 1-under 70 Saturday afternoon
before matching par with a final-round 71. O’Brien finished alone in 11th
place at 1-over 214 as he opened with a 1-under 70, matched par in the second
round with a 71 and finished up with a 2-over 73.
Spina finished among the group tied for 19th at
4-over 217 as he matched par with a 71 in the opening round, backed off with a
3-over 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round and posted a solid 1-over 72 in
the final round.
Sophomore Wills Montgomery, a former Downingtown East
standout, finished in the group tied for 40th at 223. Montgomery got
off to a great start with a 3-under 68 in the opening round before falling back
with rounds of 79 and 76.
Noah Henderson, a junior from Solana Beach, Calif., finished
among the group tied for 78th at 240 after a final round of 80. His
second-round 77 was a counter for the Hawks.
Backing up Barone on a veteran Temple team was Trey Wren, a
senior from Suffolk, Va. who has been one of Quinn’s most reliable players the
last three years. Wren finished among the group tied for 27th at
6-over 219 after adding a final-round 77 to the pair of solid even-par 71s he
carded in Saturday’s double round.
Senior Gary McCabe, a La Salle product from Collegeville,
and freshman Conor McGrath, a Golf Association of Philadelphia junior standout
and Academy of the New Church product, both landed with the group tied for 43rd
at 224. McCabe opened with a 2-over 73 before adding rounds of 76 and 75 while
McGrath’s college debut saw him finish up with a 2-over 73 after rounds of 76
and 75 in Saturday’s first two rounds.
Senior Sam Soeth, a four-time District One qualifier during
an outstanding scholastic career at Marple Newtown, finished up strong with a
3-over 74 to finish among the group tied for 71st at 231.
Redshirt junior Erik Reisner, a two-time Central League
champion at Harriton, competed as an individual and finished among the group
tied for 33rd at 221 after opening with a 1-under 70.
Penn was led by Josh Goldenberg, a senior from Scarsdale,
N.Y. who finished among the group tied for 14th at 3-over 216.
Goldenberg, who finished in a tie for fourth in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial in
the Quakers’ season opener last weekend, continued his strong play as he
improved off an opening-round 74 with a 1-under 70 Saturday afternoon and a
1-over 72 in Sunday’s final round.
Backing up Goldenberg for the Quakers was Carter Thompson, a
senior from Tallahassee, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 24th
at 5-over 218. Thompson opened with a sparkling 3-under 68 before adding rounds
of 73 and 77.
Mitchell Cornell, a sophomore from Incline Village, Nev.,
was a shot behind Thompson in the group tied for 27th at 219 as he
broke par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 1-under 70.
Mark Haghani, a freshman from Wilson, Wyo., finished among
the group tied for 51st at 225 after a final-round 75 and Zareh
Kaloustian, a senior from Sherman Oaks, Calif., was a shot behind Haghani in
the group tied for 56th at 226 after a final-round 78. Haghani and
Kaloustian contributed respective rounds
of 1-over 72 and 2-over 73 to Penn’s solid opening-round 287.
Carter Prince, a freshman from Centerport, N.Y., led the way
for Penn’s B team as he joined Haghani in the group tied for 51st at
225. Prince posted consistent rounds of 75, 74 and 76.
Leading the way for Bucknell was junior Peter Bradbeer, the
Friends Central product who captured GAP’s Patterson Cup in 2017 while
representing Merion Golf Club. After opening with a 75, Bradbeer fired a
3-under 68 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a
3-over 74 to end up in the group tied for12th at 2-over 215.
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