Finally back on the course, Yale takes title in Alex Lagowitz Memorial; Villanova finishes seventh

    It had been nearly two years since the Yale men’s golf team teed it up in a tournament, so the Bulldogs were more than ready to compete again.

   Building a big lead by going 4-under-par in the first 36 holes Saturday afternoon, Yale, a perennial contender in the Ivy League, rolled to a 15-shot victory in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational, hosted by Colgate, which concluded Sunday at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y.

   College golf was largely shut down by the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020 and the Ivy League kept its golfers out of competition for the spring as well.

   It was the opening tournament of the 2021-2022 season for Villanova as well and the Wildcats rebounded from a rough opening round with a couple of solid efforts in the second and third rounds on their way to a seventh-place finish.

   Yale, getting strong showings from one of its rookies, Ben Carpenter of Darien, Conn., and from one of its veterans, Teddy Zinsner, a senior from Alexandria, Va., opened with a 3-under 285 over the 6,834-yard, par-72 Seven Oaks layout and added a 4-under 284 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. Yale closed with a 2-over 290 Sunday to finish with a 2-under 862 total.

   Seton Hall, out of the Big East, matched Yale’s final round of 2-over 290 to earn runnerup honors with a 13-over 877 total. Seton Hall opened with a 296 and added a 3-over 291 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. Rhode Island, out of the Atlantic 10, was another five shots behind Seton Hall in third place with an 18-over 882 total. The Rams sandwiched a 2-over 290 in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 296s.

   Host Colgate, behind individual champion Dugan McCabe, a sophomore from Bethesda, Md., finished three shots behind Rhode Island in fourth place with a 21-over 885 total. After opening with a 296, the Raiders put together the best team round of the weekend, a 5-under 283 in Saturday afternoon’s second round, before struggling to a 306 in the final round.

   St. Bonaventure, another Atlantic 10 entry, ended up two shots behind Colgate in fifth place with a 23-over 887 total. The Bonnies got better each round, improving from an opening-round 303 with a 297 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a solid 1-under 287.

   Cornell, another Ivy League team that was sidelined for more than 18 months by the pandemic, finished a shot behind St. Bonaventure in sixth place with an 888 total. The Big Red sandwiched a 300 in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 294s. Cornell got one tournament in in the spring of 2020 before the onset of the pandemic shut down college golf.

   Villanova, another Big East entry, struggled in the opening round with a 308, but bounced back with a 1-under 287 Saturday afternoon before closing with a 294 to finish a shot behind Cornell in seventh place with an 889 total.

   The Alex Lagowitz Memorial had a 15-team field, including B teams from host Colgate and Seton Hall. Teams were allowed an extra player as the event was a six-score-four rather than the usual five-score-four format.

   Carpenter and Zinsner led the way for Yale as they both landed among a group of four players tied for fifth place at even-par 216.

   Carpenter opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72. Zinsner had a share of the individual lead with Colgate’s McCabe following Saturday’s double round as he added a 71 to his opening round of 2-under 70 before backing off with a final-round 75.

   Backing up Carpenter and Zinsner for Yale was Darren Lin, a senior from Chino Hills, Calif. who ended up in a tie for 11^th place at 2-over 218. After struggling in the opening round with a 79, Lin had Yale’s best individual round of the weekend, a sparkling 3-under 69 in Saturday afternoon’s second round, before closing with a 70.

   Sho Wai Wu, a junior from China, was steady all weekend as he matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 75 before closing with a 73 as he finished among the group tied for 15^th place with a 4-over 220 total. All three of Wu’s rounds were counters for the Bulldogs.

   Gabriel Ruiz, a sophomore from Mexico, contributed solid rounds of even-par 72 and 1-over 73 in Saturday’s double round before closing with a 77 as he finished among the group tied for 22^nd place at 6-over 222.

   Rounding out the Yale lineup was Blake Bentley, a freshman from Winston-Salem, N.C. who added a 76 to his opening-round 79 before closing with a 78 that left him in the group tied for 59^th place at 231.

   Colgate’s McCabe opened with a 71 and added a 2-under 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round that gave him a share of the individual lead with Yale’s Zinsner heading into Sunday’s final round. McCabe grinded out a 1-over 73 in the final round to capture the individual crown with a 2-under 214 total.

   That gave him a one-shot margin over a trio of players, headed by Lafayette junior Ryan Tall, the former Conestoga standout and 2018 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ champion, that finished in a tie for second place at 1-under 215. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Tall added a 1-over 73 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Tall was joined at 1-under by St. John’s freshman Peicheng Chen and Rhode Island’s Brandon Gilles, a redshirt senior from Nashua, N.H. After opening with a 74, Chen carded a solid 1-under 71 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 2-under 70. Gilles struggled in the opening round with a 75, but bounced back with the best individual round of the tournament, a 5-under 67 that left him a shot out of the lead. Gilles finished up with a 1-over 73.

   Joining Yale’s Carpenter and Zinsner in the group tied for fifth place at even-par 216 were Cornell’s Benjamin Choe, a junior from Herndon, Va., and St. John’s Jack Simon, a senior from Sparta, N.J. Choe matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 73 and closed with a 1-under 71. Simon added a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the top 10 was a pair from Seton Hall as Angus O’Brien, a freshman from Australia, and Gregor Tait, a graduate student from England, both landed on 1-over 217 to finish in a tie for ninth place. O’Brien grabbed a share of the lead Saturday morning with an opening round of 3-under 69 before backing off with a 75 in the afternoon. He closed with a 1-over 73. Tait opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 74.

   Villanova was led by Peter Weaver, a sophomore from Frontenac, Mo. who finished among the group tied for 15^th place at 4-over 220. After opening with a 75, Weaver bounced back with a solid 1-under 71 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 74.

   Weaver wrapped up his pandemic-shortened freshman season last spring by finishing in a tie for 13^th place in the Big East Championship at the Streamsong Resort’s Blue Course in Florida.

   Matthew Copeland, a graduate student from Maryville, Tenn. who transferred to the Main Line from Wofford, carded a pair of 74s in Saturday’s double round before closing with a 77 to finish in the group tied for 33^rd place with a 225 total.

   Another player making his debut with the Wildcats was Vimal Alokam, a freshman from Ypsilanti, Mich. who matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish among the group tied for 38^th place at 227. Alokam struggled in the opening round with an 82, but bounced back with a solid 1-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Luke Alexander, a junior from Rochester, Minn., contributed a 2-under 70 to Villanova’s solid second-round showing, but struggled with bookend 79s in the first and third rounds to finish in a tie for 45^th place with a 228 total.

   Like Alokam, Matt Minerva, a junior from Elmsford, N.Y., struggled in the opening round with an 82 before rebounding with a 1-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round and closing with a 74 to end up in the group tied for 47^th place with a 229 total.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was senior Matt Davis, a product of Malvern Prep and the Aronimink Golf Club junior program. Davis contributed a counting 2-over 74 in the final round after struggling in Saturday’s double round, going 80-78 as he finished alone in 62^nd place with a 232 total.

   A couple of Haverford School products were in the Alex Lagowitz field.

   David Hurly, a junior at Lehigh, finished in the group tied for 38^th place with a 227 total. Hurly opened with a solid 2-over 74 and added a 78 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 75. Lehigh finished in a tie for eighth place in the team standings with an 892 total, closing with its best round of the weekend Sunday, a 6-over 294.

   Jake Maddaloni made his college debut for Bucknell and finished in the group tied for 72^nd place with a 238 total. Maddaloni, like Villanova’s Davis, a product of the junior program at Aronimink, opened with a 78 and added a 77 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with an 80.

   Maddaloni was a key member of back-to-back Inter-Ac League championship teams with the Fords in 2018 and 2019 before having his senior season stolen by the pandemic. The Bison finished in 10^th place in the team standings with an 893 total. Bucknell’s best round was its opening-round 293.

   Rider’s lineup included sophomore Nick Hano, who starred scholastically at Central Bucks West. Hano closed with his best round of the weekend, a 4-over 76, to finish in the group tied for 59^th place with a 231 total. Hano opened with a 78 and added a 77 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   The Broncs finished in 14^th place with a 914 total, their best round a 302 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.