M. Golf Finishes 10th at New Englands

Coming off of a big win by junior Andrew Klein at the Yale Spring Open one week ago, the Harvard men’s golf team headed south once again—this time to Providence for the New England Championship. A two-day tournament with 94 players representing 19 colleges and universities in the region, the annual event at Triggs Memorial Golf Club proved a challenge for the men’s team.

Not only was the field extremely competitive, but the course conditions were also unfavorable, making for some difficult golf. After a week of rain left standing water all over the course, the tournament tested both the players’ mental and physical conditioning.

“The course was pretty soggy this weekend, which made for some tired legs at the end of the day,” Klein said.

Nevertheless, there were some bright spots for the Crimson. Senior Neal Hegge shot a final-round 73 after opening with a 77 for a six-over-par total of 150, nabbing a tie for eleventh place overall.

“Neal really played well today,” Klein said. “A 73 in today’s conditions is some really solid golf.”

Klein himself, looking forward to this weekend after last week’s tournament-winning performance, shot 77-78 for a disappointing eleven-over-par total of 155.

“My game was feeling good coming into the tournament this weekend but I never really got things going,” Klein said. “I started out hitting the ball pretty well, but made a few mental mistakes that hurt me. Even after three birdies on the back nine, which got me back to around par, I finished poorly. I am a bit disappointed that I didn’t get more out of my rounds.”

Beyond Hegge and Klein, the Crimson got strong rounds from freshman D.J. Hynes and sophomores Cliff Ryan and Christopher Wu, who finished tied for 47th, 58th and 78th, respectively.

Again though, the team was disappointed that it did not finish higher.

“Under ordinary circumstances I feel that I would’ve been able to eat that course up,” said Ryan. “But this just wasn’t the weekend.”

Overall, Harvard placed in the middle of the pack, taking tenth place behind champion University of Rhode Island and sixth-place Yale, among others.

With only two weeks left until the Ivy League Championships at Metedeconk Country Club, the team still has some work left to do. Nonetheless, the players feel very good about their play and their chances at winning the league trophy.

“We’re definitely prepared for the Ivies,” Hynes said. “We just have to keep our focus and practice the little things.” “If we can straighten out a few things between now and the Ivies, we should be serious contenders to win,” Ryan said.