Last weekend’s Macdonald Cup proved that home is not always sweet.
The cup, held at The Course at Yale, did not go as planned, as the hosting Bulldogs finished a disappointing sixth in the 15-team tournament. The Elis’ three-round total was 905 — 17 strokes behind winner Binghamton University.
“The team finish is much worse than we had hoped,” captain Steve Gray ’05 said. “We lost ground to our district teams and our momentum from a good finish at the Adams Cup.”
The Macdonald Cup did not feature the same level of talent that the Bulldogs competed against at the Adams Cup Sept. 28. As a result, while the Bulldogs finished sixth at both tournaments, this past weekend’s performance left a bitter taste in their mouths. To make matters worse, the field at the Macdonald Cup included many teams in the Northeast District, meaning the Elis squandered an opportunity to separate themselves from their district rivals.
While the Bulldogs as a team did not fare well, Rick Reissman ’06 had an impressive individual performance. Reissman earned sixth place with a three-round score of 219 — just five shots behind first place finisher Jeff Wolniewicz of Binghamton. Gray followed closely with a 221 while Mark Matza ’07, Chris Holmes ’07 and Joe Potter ’07 shot 230, 239 and 251, respectively.
“Rick and Steve have sore backs from carrying us around the course,” Holmes said. “Shooting 219 out there with the greens as firm as they were definitely constitutes the strongest finish anyone on the team has had in a tournament this year.”
Yale golfer Andrew Denenberg ’08 echoed Holmes’ sentiments.
“Rick, along with the rest of the older guys, leads by example,” Denenberg said. “They let their actions on the course do the talking for them.”
Despite the strong individual performances, the Bulldogs as a team did not correct the mistakes they made in previous tournaments. In the Adams Cup, the short game proved to be the Elis’ weak point. The short game again was again problematic for most of the Bulldogs over the weekend.
“Overall, I would say that short game was still an issue for all of us except for Steve,” Holmes said. “He had no three putts in the entire tournament, which is incredible.”
So far this fall, the Bulldogs have struggled to dominate their regional rivals as they have in previous years. Gray attributes the parity among teams this season to the overall greater level of talent in the district.
“The teams in the Northeast [District] have gained some good young talent,” Gray said. “All five of our guys have to kick it into gear to beat these teams now.”
The Bulldogs will try to rebound Oct. 31 at The Prestige in La Quinta, Calif.
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