Crimson Swings to Success at Cape Cod

For the Harvard men’s golf team, this weekend couldn’t have gone any better.

One week before the Crimson heads to the Ivy Championships, Harvard won a one-day tune-up tournament on Friday against Brown and Dartmouth. Each team entered six golfers into the field, with the top four scores from each squad counting towards the final tally.

For the Crimson, captain Andrew Klein, juniors Chris Wu and Matt Amis, and sophomore D.J. Hynes all put up low marks that led Harvard to the victory.

“It was a good chance to have a relaxed round of golf,” Klein said. “It allowed all of us to tinker with the swing a little bit.”

Klein, a senior, will enter his final Ivy Championships on a roll. After carding a two under-par 68 in the final round of the Yale Invitational last weekend, Klein posted a two over-par 73 on Friday even though his main goal for the round was to focus on his game around the green.

“For me, I was just working on the putting,” he said. “In the first round last weekend I had a few problems…I’m just trying to get myself in a positive frame of mind.”

Wu matched Klein’s 73, although his came about differently. In the windy conditions of Cape Cod, Wu challenged tight greens and fairways—leading to some errant shots and an up and down day.

“It was a pretty short course where you could score well,” said Wu, who had five birdies and an eagle on the round. “But it could also grab you at certain places as well. It was pretty tight…and there was wind.”

Wu shot an opening round 81 last weekend at Yale, but like Klein, has put up two strong rounds in a row—with a 71 in the closing round last week and the 73 on Friday.

“I’m hitting the ball a lot better,” Wu said. “The short game is still a little rough and with the long layoffs that’s what can happen.”

Hynes and Amis shot a 76 and 78 respectively to bring the Crimson’s total to an even 300, good enough to come out on top for the one day tournament.

Now up for Harvard is the Ivy Championships which will take place in Metedeconck, N.J. next Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Crimson’s main competition for the league crown will come from Princeton, Penn and Yale—who finished two spots ahead of Harvard at last weekend’s Yale Invitational.

But with Klein and Wu hitting stride, the Crimson has as good a one-two punch as any team in the Ivies. And with the supporting cast—led by Hynes and Amis—beginning to fall into place, Harvard figures to be within striking distance of a championship come Sunday.

“A lot of guys are playing well,” Klein said. “A lot of guys are peaking at the same time. We’ve got a good vibe.”

—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.