Crimson Takes Sixth at Ivies

While the clouds opened up in Boston, D.J. Hynes was raining birdies in New Jersey.

The senior fired a three-under 69 in Sunday’s final round to tie for second place in the individual standings as the Harvard men’s golf team finished sixth at the Ivy League Championships at the Ballyowen Golf Course in Hamburg.

Hynes and Columbia’s Chris Condello, both placing second with three-round scores of 217, finished five shots back of the individual champion, Larry Haertel of Brown.

The Crimson captain played impressively in the final round, rebounding from a second-round tally of 78, and hit 17 of 18 greens during the day—“the best I’ve hit the greens all year,” Hynes said.

“It was just one of those days when things kind of clicked,” he added. “I just felt really in control all day.”

Unfortunately, the rest of the Harvard squad was unable to match Hynes’ effort as the young Crimson placed sixth overall, tying Dartmouth with a three-day total of 940.

The finish was a big improvement over last year’s last-place showing, with Cornell earning that dubious distinction this year. The Big Red finished 20 shots behind Harvard and the Big Green.

“I wish [we] had done a little better,” Hynes said, “but it was an improvement over last year, I guess, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Princeton took the title with a score of 895, edging the resurgent Lions—who combined to card a 289 yesterday—by just one stroke.

Nevertheless, Harvard took solace in the fact that its younger players showed signs of promise.

Rookies John Christensen and Michael Shore finished No. 28 and No. 31 individually.

Christensen rebounded from rounds of 84 and 83 to close out the tournament with a 73, while Shore performed similarly with a 241 overall—just one stroke behind his classmate.

“To shoot that as a freshman in the Ivy League championship,” Hynes said of Christensen’s round, “is obviously commendable. The fact that [Christensen and Shore] played like they did, it means they are going to be that much better next year and the next year.”

Moreover, junior Thomas Hegge—”a staple for us,” Hynes said—showed flashes of his potential as well, finishing No. 32 after carding a three-round total of 242.

Senior Ernest Jean-Marc Monrad also played for the Crimson, finishing 40th with a score of 265.

Harvard will finish up its regular season next weekend when it travels to Newport, R.I., to play in the URI Invitational.

By winning the team title, Princeton earned a berth in the NCAA Eastern Regional in two weeks.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.