Linksters Fall In Tri-Meet

George Arnold turned the television set to the Red Sox game, made an about-face and slumped in the nearest chair. Well, George, how did you do today? "I just hit it rude," answered the Crimson's sixth-ranked linkster, "and shot an 83. That's the only way I can say it."

Unfortunately for the Harvard golf team, that said it all. The linksters couldn't keep their heads down on the greens of the Kirkbrae Country Club in Lincoln, R.I., and as a result, finished third in a tri-meet with UMass and Providence. The Minutemen triumphed with a 477 score, with the Friars a mere stroke back at 478 and the Crimson four back at 481.

Troubles...

"Everybody had putting problems," Arnold said. "It was terrible. We just couldn't read the greens. They were bumpy and fast and bumpy and slow and..."

A look at the individual results reveals the veracity of Arnold's assertion. Dave Paxton, the meet's medalist with a 75, could have had really low numbers save for five three-putt greens. Alex Vik added seven en route to a 78, while Spence Fitzgibbons, in Arnold's terminology, simply had "a case of the quacks."

I the second position, Jim Dales turned in Harvard's best performance of the afternoon. The sophomore from Michigan shot a 78 that would have been a 75 were it not for a triple-bogey seen on the par-four 18th. Arnold's 83, Chris Ball's 84 and an 83 off the clubs of Tom "Fast Eddie" Edwards concluded the Crimson scoring.

If at First...

The linksters will only have to wait until tomorrow to return to the win column, as they travel to Worcester to tee off against Holy Cross and Williams.

As for yesterday's match, Arnold pulled the team's favorite expression out of his golf bag to sum it up. "We got howled at by the course," he explained. By George, that says it all.