PRINCETON, N.J. – The Harvard men's golf team captured its first tournament victory of the 2025-26 season this afternoon at the Princeton Invitational. The Crimson, the only group to finish under-par as a team in the tournament, posted a combined score of three-under-par at the Springdale Golf Club. Two Crimson golfers –
Morgan Riley and
William Ma – recorded hole-in-ones during the tournament to help push the Crimson over the top and into first place in the field.
The win now makes five tournament victories for the Crimson in the past five seasons and the first since the Glen Arbor Invitational last Fall.
How it Happened
Harvard made its way down to New Jersey this weekend to compete in the Princeton Invitational at the Springdale Golf Club. The Crimson's final tune up before the 2026 Ivy League Championship, the team was looking to continue making strides before the conference tournament at the end of the month.
The team wasted no time positioning itself atop the leaderboard, moving into second place after the first round with a team score of 287 (+3). Sophomore
Ieuan Jones led the way with a two-under-par round of 69 that was fueled by six birdies.
Barry Zhang contributed with an even-par round of 71 and
William Ma (+2) and
Isaac Ahn (+3) rounded out the team scoring for Harvard on the opening 18 holes.
Morgan Riley caught fire in the second round, going two under on the front nine before recording a hole-in-one on the par-three 13
th hole at Springdale Golf Club. The first year finished the round with a score of 67 (-4) thanks to six birdies and the eagle hole-in-one. Ma continued to climb up the leaderboard with a second-round score of 71 (E) while Zhang (+2) and Ahn (+3) chipped in to the team's second round total of 285 (+1). Harvard was tied with Georgetown and Princeton for first place at the end of the second round, setting up a meaningful Sunday round at the tournament.
The Crimson quickly established itself ahead of the pack with another strong series of rounds on Sunday.
William Ma created another memorable moment on the par three fifth hole, when he recorded a hole-in-one, his first in competition for Harvard and the second of the tournament for the Crimson. The ace was the highlight of his two-under-par round of 69 that pushed him up into second place in the field. Riley continued his strong play in the final 18, posting a three-under round of 68 to finish tied for fourth place at one-over-par. Ahn posted his best score of the tournament, matching his classmate Riley with a three-under 68, putting him in the top 20 at T14. Jones shot a one-over-par round of 72 to close out Harvard's team scoring in the final round of play.
The team score of 277 (-7) was the lowest round for any team in the field at the tournament and solidified the Crimson's victory. The win makes three Princeton Invitational Championships in program history for Harvard, who defeated all six other Ivy League teams at the event in its final tune-up before the Ivy League Championship at the end of the month.
Harvard Highlights
- Morgan Riley and William Ma recorded hole-in-ones at the tournament.
- Ma was the individual runner-up in the event with a tournament score of 213 (E)
- Riley secured his first career top 10 with a T4 finish after shooting a 214 (+1)
- Ieuan Jones and Issac Ahn came in T14 with tournament scores of 216 (+3).
- Competing as an Individual, Jonathan Hartono came in T18 with a score of 217 (+4).
- Harvard's third round score of 277 (-7) was the lowest single round of any team in the field.
- The Crimson defeated all six other Ivy League teams at the tournament.
- Ma tied for the most pars in the event with 37.
- Riley was the only golfer in the field to record two eagles.
- Ahn's 11 birdies were a team-best and good for T9 in the field.
- Ahn shot five-under-par on par-fives, tied for the best score on the long holes in the tournament.
- Jonathan Hartono only carded eight bogeys in the event, tied for the lowest by an individual.
- Jones had the second best scoring average on par three holes with a 2.83 clip (-2 overall).
- As a team, the Crimson had the best scoring average on par-three (+6) and par-five holes (-13).
- Harvard also had the most eagles (2), third-most birdies (47) and T1 most pars (160).
Up Next
Harvard will look to ride the momentum from this victory into the 2026 Ivy League Championship in two weeks. The Crimson will compete against the rest of the conference at Baltusrol Golf Club on April 24-26 for the tournament crown and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
