The men’s golf team returned to New Haven on Tuesday after a disappointing last-place finish in the Adams Cup in Newport, R.I.
“The Adams Cup result was a great disappointment for us after our victory at Dartmouth,” coach Dave Paterson said.
Yale won the Dartmouth Invitational on Sept. 21 in Hanover, N.H., for the second consecutive year.
But on Monday and Tuesday, the team played tough competitors including nationally ranked No. 12 Michigan State University, No. 29 University of Rhode Island, and defending NCAA champion University of Minnesota. Of the 12 teams entered, Yale finished dead last in the 54-hole tournament. Teams played one round Monday and two rounds Tuesday.
In both the 2001 and 2002 Adams Cups, Yale finished No. 13. Last year, 18 schools competed.
Bad course conditions and the irregular greens of the Newport National Golf Club’s course hurt the Elis’ performance in the early part of this week. The course was a 7,160 yard, par 72 setup.
“It was frustrating, because it was a tough course with good teams. It seemed that there was a lot going against us,” Alexander Fulton ’04 said.
The Newport National course caused many bad breaks, and thus many double bogies that hurt the Elis’ outcome. Yale finished with a 926 team total. Minnesota, which won the tournament, totaled 860 strokes, and was the only school to finish below par.
Daniel Levy ’06 highlighted Yale’s performance at the Adams Cup. Levy (74-72-74) carried the team, finishing tied for fifth place.
“Dan [Levy] was outstanding. One of the best individual performances I’ve seen at Yale,” Fulton said.
Levy’s dedication helped motivate the team, even when the outcome seemed clear after the first day. Yale finished Monday last with a 317 team total and could not climb from the cellar yesterday.
“I was pumped and proud of myself that I stepped it up in such a big time tournament,” Levy said.
Rick Reissman ’06 (78-73-80) had a good middle round despite the conditions. He finished tied for 45th.
Rounding out Yale’s top five finishers were Alex Fulton ’04 (83-76-78), 55th, Steve Gray ’05 (82-82-77), 60th, and Gabe Borrud ’06 (84-83-77), 64th. Borrud won the individual medal at the Dartmouth Invitational a week earlier.
“We need to learn to play more consistently if we are to continue to play at that level of competition,” Paterson said of the Adams Cup entrants.
Yale next hosts the MacDonald Cup from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12.