Golfers Sweep in Opener at Tough New Seabury

The Harvard linksters ushered in their season with a first-place finish over a field of Boston College, Salem State, and Brown yesterday, marking the first victory for golf coach Bob Carr.

Carr squired his team to the seaside New Seabury Country Club in Cape Cod, a 7200-yard-long layout of rollicking fairways that looked like a replica of an enchanted Watteau watercolor. The linksters found the landscape somewhat less than sublime as only one player in the 28-man field could break 80.

Fortunately, that player was Harvard's Ron Himelman, whose six-over-par 78 earned him medalist honors by four strokes over B.C.'s R.D. Haskell and was responsible for the Crimson's three-stroke margin of victory over B.C. and Salem State.

Shining Armor

Harvard finished with a team aggregate of 432, while B.C. and Salem State tied at 435. As Himelman battled the course like a lone knight errant, George Arnold posted an 86 for the Crimson. Spence Fitzgibbons and Chip Raffi both fired 89s in their season debut, and Jimmy Dales shot an even 90.

Himelman's magic wand yesterday was his driver as the journeyman senior was able to pinpoint his tee shot through the entire round. Himelman began his round from the back nine and was three over going to the dog-leg par-five 18th, his ninth hole.

Himelman bayoneted the green with an eight iron and then administered the coup de grace when he sank the 15-ft. putt for his first birdie.

He dramatically drew to even par with an eagle on the next hole a la Gene Sarazen in the 1935 Masters. After crunching his drive on the downwind par five, he ripped a five iron onto the green and proceeded to kill a rattler when he snaked home a 40-ft. putt.

Take Two

After parring the second hole, Himelman made his first miscue of the day on the par-three third. All the par threes at New Seabury, which was the site of the Massachusetts Open two years ago, are over 200 yards. The third is an alluring 220-yarder, playing into the wind with water on the left and a view of Martha's Vineyard on the horizon. The hole proved Himelman's fatal Cleopatra when his tee shot dribbled into the water and he took a double bogey.

He almost carded another eagle on the par-five fourth. His five wood to the green flew long and was bunkered, but he almost holed the explosion shot coming back. He settled for a par after missing a tap-in for a birdie.

Himelman's fairybook round allowed the linksters a measure of grace before facing Yale and Princeton tomorrow in the Big Three match on Yale's demanding home eighteen. The team will be without the services of Glenn Alexander, who has one of the most picturesque swings of any collegian in New England. Alexander, who is sidelined with an infected toe, was medalist in the Big Three Match last year, when the linksters won it on their home course, The Country Club in Brookline.

Harvard now has a 3-0 record despite its astronomical scores, which brings to mind the jingle of the Papa Gino's pizza chain where the Crimson dined to celebrate opening day--"What you want is what you get."