Steady Play at Season Opener

This weekend a reenergized men’s golf surged ahead of Princeton at the annual McLaughlin Tournament held at the famed Bethpage Red Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., finding redemption after last year’s last-place finish.

“This year we’ve come back with a new attitude,” captain Michael Shore said. “For the first time in a long time we have more upperclassmen than lower classmen. Our attitude in practice is better, we’re playing better golf, getting better scores, and expecting more out of ourselves.”

In a deep field of 18 schools, Harvard finished ninth and Princeton, the only other Ivy League opponent in attendance at the fall invitational, finished 11th.

“This was one of the stronger fields we’ll play all year, but we beat the other Ivy that was there,” Shore said. “Princeton played well, but we beat them, which is nice.”

Shooting a cumulative 870 as a team over three rounds, 292-290-288, the Crimson ended round one tied for fourth place. Though the team’s scores improved over the next two days, the team slipped on the leaderboard as Friday’s windy weather conditions eased up over the weekend.

Southeastern Louisiana led the field over all three rounds and ultimately took home the win. Towson University followed, finishing four shots off the lead. Johnson and Wales University-Florida rounded out the top three, six shots off the lead.

For Harvard, Shore posted the most impressive numbers. Finishing at +5, 72-72-69, Shore’s scores earned him a spot in the overall top 20, with a tie for 16th as an individual. These individual numbers were better than any other Ivy Leaguer at the tournament.

“I was happy with my play,” Shore said. “Golf is a sport where you always leave some shots out there, but if you’re shooting around par in this league you’ve done well.”

Following Shore, junior Greg Shuman posted a formidable 73-73-71 and made it to the top 25. Fellow junior Peter Singh contributed comparable scores of 74-70-75.

Two freshmen earned the privilege of traveling with the team and making their first collegiate appearances. Tony Grillo and Mark Pollak represented the Crimson for the first time and showed why they belong with scores of 73-73-76 and 75-76-73, respectively.

“I think the main thing is that there’s a lot more team structure,” Grillo said. “You’ve got the guys behind you and in front of you wanting to see you do well. You’re happy to hear a teammate playing well and helping your team even if he’s beating you.”

It was a particularly special treat to play on the well-respected Red Course at Bethpage, a neighbor to the Black Course, where the U.S. Open will be played in 2009. Players in this week’s tournament could see officials preparing the course in anticipation of the June major.

This year’s team is a much more consistent, able, and cohesive bunch, as indicated by the mere nine shot difference between scores from the best and worst rounds posted by Crimson competitors.

“Consistently providing good scores up and down the team, one through five, is how you make a good team,” Shore said. “And, we’ve got more great players who will be traveling for future tournaments.”

Next week the team will rest before traveling to New Haven, Conn. for the MacDonald Cup on the first weekend of October.

—Staff writer Elizabeth A. Joyce can be reached at eajoyce@fas.harvard.edu.