Men's Golf Finishes 12th at Philadelphia Big 5
-by Theo Lederhausen '14
This week the Harvard Men's Golf team traveled to the outskirts of Philadelphia for the Big Five Invitational hosted by Temple University. The event featured 21 schools and was the strongest field the team has faced this season. Plymouth Country Club in Plymouth Meeting, PA, designed by William S. Flynn, was the very generous host for the week. This narrow, par 70 course played a long 6610 yards, showing its teeth with its four-inch long rough and small, perfect greens. The entire club was very receptive of the tournament and provided the field with great hospitality.
After arriving late Thursday evening, the team woke up on Friday and had a productive practice session at Temple University's private practice facility. Shortly thereafter the team played a practice round at Plymouth C.C. in order to ensure good course management for the week on a tricky layout. After a long practice round, the team went to the hotel to change into a coat and tie for a banquet dinner at the course, which was a great opportunity to meet and talk with other players. The highlight of the dinner was an inspirational speech by Fran Dunphy, the head coach of Temple University's basketball team, ranked #12 nationally in 2009-10.
For the first day of competition the Crimson golfers were happy to have clear, blue skies and temperatures in the low 60s. The course proved to be tough, with greens running fast and winds sporadically blowing at 15 mph. The team posted a first round total of 299, which put them in 13th place. Seiji Liu '14 led the squad with an impressive back nine comeback to shoot 72. Theo Lederhausen '14 shot 74, and Captain Tony Grillo '12 drained a 15-footer on the last hole for a raucous crowd to shoot a 76. Connor Wentzell '12 played solid with 77 and Mark Pollak '12 shot 78. The Crimson golfers were a bit disappointed with their first round score, but optimistic about the next day of play.
Thank you to the Wentzell family for a delicious dinner shared with Dartmouth Coach and good friend Richie Parker.
The weather for the second day of competition was again spectacular, with a light breeze and temperatures in the low 60s. The Crimson golfers were not able to climb the leader board as much as they had hoped with a day two total of 298. This 36 hole score of 597 (+37) moved the Crimson into 12th place for the tournament. Liu continued his excellent play, carding a 1-under par 69 for the day. This placed him near the top of the leader board in 3rd place. Grillo played solid to finish with 74, while Lederhausen shot 76, and Pollak added with 79. Wentzell got off to a very slow start, but battled well to shoot 81.
Next weekend the team is headed to Rhode Island to compete in the Northeast Invitational, where all 8 Ivy League teams will be competing. It will be a nice preview to the Ivy League Championship in the Spring.
Par:
70 70
Daily
Low Round
Yardage: 6610
6610
Daily Leader Both
Fin
Team
Scores
1 Furman University
283 291
574 +14
2 St. John's
Univ. 292
290 582 +22
T 3 Kentucky, U.
of 293
290 583 +23
T 3 Princeton University
289 294 583
+23
T 5 Binghamton
Univ. 297
290 587 +27
T 5 Yale
University
293 294 587
+27
7 Seton Hall
Univ. 297
291 588
+28
8 Villanova University 291
300 591 +31
T 9 Pennsylvania, U.
of 301 292
593 +33
T 9 Rhode Island, U.
of 294 299
593 +33
11 Campbell University
291 303 594
+34
T 12 Dartmouth
College 296
301 597 +37
T 12 Harvard University
299 298
597 +37
14 Temple
University 303
295 598
+38
15 Fordham University
303 302 605
+45
16 Brown
University
310 306 616
+56
17 Francis Marion
U. 311
306 617
+57
18 Cornell University
313 305 618
+58
19 Drexel
University 304
315 619
+59
20 Saint Joseph's Univ. 310
313 623
+63
21 La Salle University
320 308 628 +68
T 3 Seiji
Liu
Harvard 72
69 141 +1
T 42 Theodore Lederhausen
Harvard 74
76 150 +10
T 42 Tony
Grillo
Harvard 76
74 150 +10
T 80 Mark
Pollak
Harvard 78
79 157 +17
T 87 Connor Wentzell
Harvard 77
81 158 +18
