Sports
Men’s golf completes fall season, looks to improve in the spring
By Robert Berk ’20
October 27, 2016
Tags sports
Hamilton’s men’s golf team just completed their fall season. It was a solid campaign that really demonstrated the potential the team has. Joe Tigani ’18 led the Continentals with an average round of 76.36 that was good enough to earn him a spot on the 2016 NESCAC Men’s Golf All- Conference team. It is his third time receiving this honor. He has been one of the most consistent golfers in Hamilton’s history posting rounds under 80 in 28 of his last 29 matches, a streak that goes back to the fall of 2015. When asked about the season and the state of the team, Tigani said, “I feel like the fall season went okay, but never felt like we played to our potential. I’m looking forward to a more successful spring season as our players start to gain experience.”
The Continentals came out of the gates piping hot. In the first tournament of the year, the St. Lawrence Invitational, they placed second. Bobby Osborn ’20 started his collegiate career with an incredible first round, shooting a 73, which was good enough to put him in a tie for first place. Osborn ended the tournament in fifth place. The following weekend, the team came in first place in the Utica College Invitational at Yahnundasis Country Club, which was their only win of the fall. The Continentals played exceptional golf on the first day of the tournament as they shot a four-man score of 302, jumping out to a huge lead. They were able to withstand a late comeback attempt from St. Lawrence and hung on to win the tournament by two strokes. Tigani and Jeremy Benjamin ’19 finished in first and second place respectively out of the 56-player field. Andy Watson ’19 and Jack Kelly ’20 finished in 13th and 15th place respectively.
Unfortunately, those were the two highest finishes for the Continentals. The team finished in 15th place at Middlebury’s Duke Nelson invitational. Greg Reeves ’17 had the best performance of his collegiate career. He posted a total score of 152 over the 36-holes and earned a tie for 13th place individually. When asked about the season as a whole Reeves said, “The fall season went really well. The team played a lot of good golf and we won the tournament at Yahnundasis Country Club, which was definitely a high point.”
The last tournament before NESCAC qualifying was the Williams Fall invitational. Tigani had a strong performance as he finished in sixth place individually. The team finished in 12th place overall out of the 18 teams competing. Reeves also had a strong contribution. In the first day of NESCAC qualifying at Middlebury’s Ralph Myhre Golf Course the Continentals came in seventh place. Tigani shot an impressive 74, just three over par. On Sunday the team showed improvement, finishing the tournament in sixth place. The depth of the team was evident as five golfers finished in the top thirty. Tigani led the way finishing in a tie for 12th place, while Osborn kept both rounds under 80, finishing in 22nd place. Reeves controlled the ball beautifully as he put together the lowest round of his career. His score of 73 was the lowest round on the team throughout the whole tournament. Benjamin and Ben Morgan ’19 both totaled 157, which was good enough for a tie in 30th place.
The final competition of the fall season was the Ekwanok Tournament at Ekwanok Country Club in Manchester Vermont. This was a great weekend for underclassmen to gain experience and confidence. Osborn and Morgan both scored an 80 and tied for 13th place. Matt Cesare ’20 had the best round of his young collegiate career with an 81. His score put him at 19th place out of the 31 competitors.
While this marks the end of the fall season, there is still a lot more golf to be played. The team’s first match of the spring season is in March. Seven of the 10 members on the team are underclassmen and this off-season will be a great opportunity for them to work on their craft and hone their skills.
When asked about the season and the future of the team Morgan said, “All in all I was a little disappointed with our fall season. Each of us played some really good rounds, we just weren’t able to match them up and perform our best as a team. That being said, I think we have a lot of young talent, so I expect us to work hard in the off-season and post a couple good, solid team scores under 300 in the spring.” There is a ton of excitement within the team as they are looking forward to build off of this fall campaign and have an even better spring season.