Five Men's Golfers Compete in South Carolina

The Harvard men’s golf team finished in sixth place out of 21 teams in this weekend’s tournament held at the Furman University Golf Course. Fresh off last week’s spring break trip to Florida, the Crimson traveled back to the south on Wednesday to meet warm weather and competitive opponents in Greenville, S.C. The 48th-annual Furman Intercollegiate, hosted by the Paladins, ran from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon.

The five members of Harvard’s team that made the trip qualified for their spots in last week’s scrimmage against Lynn University. Representing the Crimson were Greg Royston, Kendrick Vinar, Seiya Liu, Robert Deng, and Aurian Capart.

“Coming off a long winter and only a week of being on grass prior to the tournament, many of us were rusty,” Liu said. “Despite this, we had a good idea of what our strengths and weaknesses were going into the event. That most definitely was a result of the work we put in during spring break and of our resiliency in the face of tough conditions.”

Harvard faced a field of competitive opponents on the links in Greenville. Among the teams participating were nationally-ranked Clemson, USC Aiken, Furman, Presbyterian College, USC Upstate, Western Carolina, Akron, Dartmouth, Gardner-Webb, James Madison, Samford, Virginia Tech, Wichita State, Chattanooga, Francis Marion, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Temple, West Virginia, and Wofford.

The three-day event, 54-hole tournament was held at an on-campus location. The course, which measures at 7,004 yards, played at par-72 for the weekend.

The Crimson completed the first round tied for seventh place with USC Aiken. Harvard finished the first 18 holes 1-under par with a combined score of 287. The Crimson improved to sixth place overall after the second day of play. The team posted a score of 286 on Saturday.

“I’m pleased,” junior Royston said. “For the first tournament of the season, I think we had really good results.”

Harvard completed the final day of the tournament with a score 289 to secure a top 10 position on the leaderboard. The Crimson finished the event at 2-under, one stroke behind Wofford. Tied at third place overall were Chattanooga and Georgia Southern. USC Aiken placed second behind 14th-ranked Clemson. After shooting 12-under par in the second round, the Tigers held on to win at 29-under par.

Clemson senior Carson Young led the Tigers to their fourth consecutive tournament victory. Young tied his career low round on Sunday to medal first. The South Carolina native shot a 70 on the opening day of play, followed by a score of 68 and 67 through the final 36 holes.

Harvard’s efforts were led by an impressive performance by senior Vinar, who shot 9-under par through the first round. The Chapel Hill native tied for ninth place at six-under with Jackson Bishop of Western Carolina. Vinar’s top-10 finish came against 127 other participants from 21 different schools. He is currently ranked fourth in the Ivy League, averaging a score of 71.73.

Also leading the Crimson was senior Deng who tied for the 14th spot on the player leaderboard. The Calif. native finished at two-under with a score of 214. Deng came into the spring season ranked among the top three players in the Ancient Eight conference.

“Kendrick and Rob played really well,” Royston said. “They executed everything, committed to everything, and had good results.”

Sophomores Liu and Capart completed the tournament with identical scores in each round. The two shot a 72 Friday, before shooting a 74 in each of the next two rounds.

Royston, who is currently ranked second in the Ivy League with an average score of 71, finished the tournament at plus-six. The South Africa native shot a 76 on Friday and a 73 in the final two rounds.

“This event has taught us a lot about what we need to practice going forward to prepare for our next events and Ivies,” Liu said.

The Furman Intercollegiate was the first of just three tournaments that Harvard will compete in during their spring season. The team will travel to the Princeton Invitational in two weeks before battling for the Ivy League Championship at the end of April.

“I think that everyone thought that they probably didn’t have quite their best stuff this week, but that’s to be expected,” Royston said. “We’ll keep doing the same thing for the rest of the season and just keep preparing as best we can, and hopefully the results come.”