Drexel's Nyanukondiwa claims individual crown in Yale Spring Invitational at the Yale Golf Course

    Behind the first career victory for Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, a freshman from Zimbabwe, Drexel finished in third place, two shots behind runnerup Temple in The Yale Spring Invitational, a one-day, 36-hole event played Saturday on the iconic Yale Golf Course in New Haven, Conn.

   Nyamukondiwa mastered the 6,795-yard, par-70 Yale Golf Course layout with a 3-under-par 67 in Saturday afternoon’s second round, which, combined with his even-par 70 in the morning, gave him a 3-under 137 total and a one-shot victory over Sacred Heart’s Marcus Lim, a sophomore from Malaysia.

   Nyamukondiwa had six birdies in his afternoon round to offset three bogeys. He was at even-par for the round when he birdied three of his last five holes, the fifth, seventh and ninth, to get it to the clubhouse at 3-under.

   The Yale Golf Course is considered a masterpiece of golf course design, the work of C.B. Macdonald and his protégé Seth Raynor. The course had fallen on hard times in recent years, but golf-course restorer extraordinaire, Gil Hanse, is scheduled to begin a restoration of the course later this year.

   Host Yale came on strong in the afternoon, matching par with a 280, to claim the team title with a 14-over 574 total. It was the first time the Yale Spring Invitational has been contested since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

   Temple, out of the American Athletic Conference, had set the pace in Saturday morning’s opening round with a solid 8-over 288. Drexel, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, and the Northeast Conference’s Sacred Heart, were a shot behind the Owls, each carding a 9-over 289.

   Yale was six shots behind Temple after opening with a 14-over 294. But behind a 2-under 68 from Darrin Lin, a senior from Chino Hills, Calif., and a 1-under 69 from Blake Brantley, a freshman from Winston-Salem, N.C., the Bulldogs came on strong Saturday afternoon to finish two shots clear of Temple.

   The Owls carded a second straight 8-over 288 in the second round to earn runnerup honors with a 16-over 576 total. Drexel, winner of last fall’s City 6 Championship at Llanerch Country Club, posted a second straight 9-over 589 Saturday afternoon to finish in third place with an 18-over 578 total.

   Siena, out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and Sacred Heart shared fourth place, each landing on 20-over 580, two shots behind Drexel. The Saints added a 9-over 289 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 291. The Pioneers opened with a 9-over 289 before adding a 291 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Yale’s Ivy League rival, Dartmouth, finished another two shots behind Siena and Sacred Heart in sixth place in a 15-team field that included a B team from Yale with a 22-over 582 total. The Big Green shaved 10 shots off their opening-round 296 with a 6-over 286 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Another Ivy League entry, Penn, finished in 10^th place with a 600 total as the Quakers added a 296 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 304.

   Brantley led the way for Yale as his afternoon 69, combined with his opening-round 71, gave him an even-par 140 that left him alone in third place in the individual standings, two shots behind Sacred Heart’s Lim.

   Gabriel Ruiz, a sophomore from Mexico, matched par in the afternoon with a 70 after opening with a 72 as he landed among a trio of players tied for fifth place at 2-over 142.

   Lin had struggled to a 77 in the opening round, but his afternoon 68 sparked Yale’s second-round surge and left him among the group tied for 12^th place with a 5-over 145 total.

   Rounding out the Yale lineup were Teddy Zinsner, a senior from Alexandria, Va., and Sho Wai Wu, a junior from China, both of whom landed among the group tied for 36^th place at 10-over 150.

   Zinsner, the last link to the Yale team that won the team title in the Ivy League Championship on a cold April weekend at Stonewall in 2018, opened with a 4-over 74 before adding a 76 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. Wu contributed a 3-over 73 to Yale’s strong second-round showing after opening with a 77.

   Sacred Heart’s Lim carded a pair of 1-under 69s over the venerable Yale Golf Course layout to claim runnerup honors with a 2-under 138 total that left him a shot behind Nyamukondiwa.

   Hartford’s Danny Frodigh, a sophomore from Westwood, Mass., matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 70 after opening with a 71 as he finished a shot behind Yale’s Brantley in fourth place with a 1-over 141 total.

   Joining Yale’s Ruiz in the trio tied for fifth place at 2-over 242 were Siena’s Nolan Crowley, a junior from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Holy Cross’ Owen Egan, a freshman from Winchester, Mass.

   After struggling to a 75 in the opening round, Crowley matched the low round of the day with a sparkling 3-under 67 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. Egan held the individual lead after opening with a 2-under 68 before cooling off with a 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Temple’s Graham Chase, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., led the way for the Owls as he finished alone in sixth place with a 3-over 143 total. Chase added a 72 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 1-over 71.

   Chase’s teammate, Ethan Whitney, a freshman from Westminster, Mass., gave the Owls a second finisher inside the top 10 as the was part of a trio of players tied for ninth place at 4-over 144. Whitney signed for a pair of 2-over 72s.

   Joining Whitney at 144 were Crowley’s Siena teammate, Brady Yates, a senior from Essex Junction, Vt., and Dartmouth’s Matt Turner, a senior from Gloucester, Mass. Yates added a 1-over 71 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 73. Turner matched par in the opening round with a 70 before adding a 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Backing up Chase and Whitney for Temple were senior Dawson Anders, a Souderton product and the winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 2017 Junior Boys’ Championship, and junior Conor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church graduate and the reigning BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion, both of whom finished among the group tied for 12^th place at 5-over 145.

   Fighting a sore shoulder, Anders added a 2-over 72 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 73. McGrath opened with a 2-over 72 before adding a 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was freshman Joey Morganti, a Havertown resident who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep. After opening with a 77, Morganti, making his first start of the spring portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season, closed with a solid 2-over 72 to finish among the group tied for 32^nd place with a 9-over 149 total.

   Next stop for Temple is The American Championship, which tees off Friday at the Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla.

   Backing up Nyamukondiwa for Drexel was Angelo Giantsopoulos, a senior from Canada who finished among the group tied for 25^th place with a 7-over 147 total. Giantsopoulos, a co-medalist in the City 6 Championship at Llanerch, added a 4-over 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 73.

   Griffin Mitchell, a sophomore from New Albany, Ohio, finished among the group tied for 28^th place with an 8-over 148 total as he closed with a solid 2-over 72 in Saturday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 76.

   Drue Nicholas, an Egg Harbor Township, N.J. resident who has had a really strong sophomore season for head coach Ben Feld’s Dragons, finished in a tie for 36^th place with a 10-over 150 total. After opening with a 4-over 74, Nicholas added a 76 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Jeffrey Cunningham, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., contributed a 2-over 72 to Drexel’s solid opening round, but didn’t submit a score in Saturday’s second round.

   Drexel will get in a match against South Carolina Beaufort at Oldfield Golf Club in Okatie, S.C. Thursday in a final tuneup for the CAA Championship, which tees off Sunday at Ditaw Island’s Cotton Dike Course on Saint Helena Island, S.C.

   Leading the way for Penn, as he has all spring, was Mark Haghani, the veteran senior from Wilson, Wyo. who finished among the group tied for 12^th place with a 5-over 145 total. After opening with a 78, Haghani matched the low individual round of the day with a sparkling 3-under 67 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   John Richardson, a freshman from England, finished among the group tied for 28^th place with an 8-over 148 total as he added a 3-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 75.

   George Roessler, a freshman from North Palm Beach, Fla., ended up in the group tied for 47^th place as he added a 5-over 75 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 77 for a 152 total.

   Carter Prince, a senior from Centerport, N.Y., finished in a tie for 60^th place with a 157 total as he struggled to an 83 in Saturday afternoon’s second round after opening with a solid 4-over 74.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup was Harrison Ornstein, a junior from Naples, Fla. who finished in a tie for 65^th place with a 159 total. Ornstein opened with a 78 before finishing up with an 81 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   The first Ivy League Championship in three years will tee off Friday at Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., a frequent U.S. Open sectional qualifying site.

   Brown’s men’s golf program was a casualty of the pandemic, but lives on as a club team. The Bears finished in 13^th place with a 65-over 625 total.

   Milo Jezzeny, who finished in a tie for eighth place in the 2020 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks West, was in the Brown lineup and finished in the group tied for 62^nd place with a 158 total. Milo Jezzeny added a 78 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 80.

   Older brother Luca Jezzeny, who lost in a playoff for the 2018 District One Class AAA crown as a senior at Central Bucks West, competed as an individual for Brown and earned low-Jezzeny honors with a 152 total that left him among the group tied for 47^th place. Luca Jezzeny carded a pair of 76s on the Yale Golf Course.