The men’s golf team continued its tear last weekend, capturing the Century Intercollegiate title and winning its second tournament in a row.
Sam Bernstein ’14 and Joe Willis ’13 led the Elis over the course of the two-day tournament, both posting scores of 149 to tie for third overall. Dartmouth’s Charlie Edler and Princeton’s Quinn Prchal tied for the individual title at the event, hosted by Yale at the Century Country Club, by shooting 145 each.
The Elis started slow during the first round on Saturday. They shot a combined 303 during the round, paced by Bernstein, who shot a two-over 73, and Thomas Greenhalgh ’15, with 75. At the end of the day, the team was in fourth place out of the eight teams in the field, trailing first-place Dartmouth by seven strokes.
“One thing that we can really improve on and that we’ve seen in the last two tournaments is getting off to a good start,” Kushner said. “We need to be sure we’re focused going into the first round.”
Greenhalgh played a challenging but impressive round Saturday, leading to his eventual fourth-place finish for the Bulldogs. Kushner said Greenhalgh often found himself having to make tough shots to keep his score down. On the 17th hole, he launched a ball into a sand trap. Yet this misfortune set up one of the day’s nicest shots, as the sophomore sunk a bunker shot, then ended his round on 18 to finish with a four-over 75 on Saturday.
“We didn’t play that great the first day,” Willis said. “But we definitely played much better the second day.”
The Bulldogs made their charge during the second round. The team shot a combined 297, the lowest team score on the day by five strokes.
Team captain Bradley Kushner ’13 rebounded from a tough eight-over first round to lead the Elis on Sunday, shooting a one-over 72. Willis was hot on the captain’s heels, nearly matching him with a two-over 72, while Bernstein finished with a five-over 76.
“The team is very resilient and we know that if we are in striking distance of the lead we have a shot to win,” Bernstein said. “We have come from behind to win both at [the Princeton Invitational] and Century, and that experience will serve us well if we are in a similar position next weekend.”
Willis noted that the team’s performance was especially noteworthy given both the difficulty of the course and the tough playing conditions, which featured strong winds and harsh cold.
With the victories at the Century Intercollegiate and the previous weekend’s Princeton Invitational, the Bulldogs seem to be peaking at the perfect time as the season comes to a close.
“I’d definitely say we have some good momentum coming off these past couple weeks,” Willis said.
The team will conclude its season at the Ivy League Championships next weekend at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md.