Led by Freshman Lim, Crimson Takes Top Spot in Yale Tournament

The Harvard women’s golf team started its new season off on the right foot this weekend, claiming a victory at the two-day Yale Women’s Intercollegiate, besting second-place Longwood University by 16 shots.

Looking to start fresh after failing to win a tournament all last season, the Crimson traveled to New Haven, Conn., where it expected to find a challenge, as the host Bulldogs are defending Ivy League champions, and the Course at Yale is a notably demanding one.

“It’s definitely a fun course, especially in terms of difficulty,” explained sophomore and Crimson business board member Bonnie Hu.

“When we got to the course, we already knew that the course was one of the best in the world,” freshman Tiffany Lim added. “We were really excited to get the chance to play on it.”

To take down 15 other schools—including Ivy rivals Brown and Yale—on such a tricky course was especially meaningful.

“I’m obviously very pleased with the win,” Harvard coach Kevin Rhoads said. “Especially the first tournament of the season, especially at a very good golf course ... against the reigning Ivy League champions.”

The Crimson was able to establish a lead on the first day of the tournament and hold on for the wire-to-wire victory, as it totaled a three-day score of 894—16 fewer strokes than second-place Longwood and 19 fewer than Nova Southeastern University.

The Crimson looked sharp from the first tee, finishing with a five-shot lead after the first 18 holes and a 13-stroke advantage after 36 holes.

“Day one is a marathon,” Rhoads said. “To play well throughout the entire day is a big challenge.”

But day two proved to be more challenging than the first, as evidenced by a general increase in scores—all 16 squads shot their worst performances in the third round—which Rhoads attributed to exhaustion and a more difficult course.

“Course play was a little more difficult, and people were worn out after a 36-hole day,” Rhoads said. “It’s difficult to walk, and it takes a lot out of people.”

“The configurations were definitely harder. We had a couple extended holes by putting the tees back further,” Hu explained. “It was a bit quite windier today, so the holes felt even longer.”

The margins between the teams stayed relatively the same, however.

“I’m not surprised that the scores were a bit higher, but it wasn’t because we weren’t doing our job or what we came to do,” Rhoads said. “We still came away with our victory.”

Individually, it was Lim who led the charge for the Crimson.

Lim, who was named the nation’s sixth-ranked incoming freshman by Golfweek Magazine, has lived up to the hype so far. She fell to second place in the individual standings due to a technicality, as she and Yale sophomore Seo Hee Moon—the reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year—were just two-over for the three rounds.

In lieu of playing more holes as a tiebreaker, their first round scores were compared to determine the winner, and so Lim finished in second place for the tournament.

Harvard’s other freshman, Brenna Nelson, tied for 11th place.

“When the freshmen arrive, they are coming off an extensive competitive program. They come in sharp because they are working hard in the offseason,” Rhoads said.

“The freshmen are great. Both are traveling and are really fitting in well with us,” Hu added. “It helps us on the course with tournaments, even though it’s a fairly individual sport.”

Also contributing to the victory were Hu, who tied for fifth, captain Christine Cho (10th), and senior Jane Lee (tie for 24th). “It was a really good team effort. You can’t come close to a win without everyone contributing,” Rhoads said.

After not winning a tournament since April 2010, the team’s hopes are riding high.

“Last year was a hard year because we had a bunch of seconds, but we didn’t quite get into the winner’s circle,” Rhoads explained. “They came out with a lot of motivation, and I give them a lot of credit.”

Next stop on the schedule for the Crimson is the Princeton Invitational this coming weekend.

“This is just the beginning.” Lim said. “We have a lot more to put out there, and I’m really excited for what we do the rest of the year.”

—Staff writer Emily Rutter can be reached at erutter@college.harvard.edu.