MEN’S GOLF: Yale dominates Lagowitz Memorial, its first tournament in 23 months
After not playing an official competition in 23 months, the Yale men’s golf team secured a win in its first tournament back, finishing with a 15-stroke lead as the only team under par.
Courtesy of Colin Sheehan
The Yale men’s golf team won the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational hosted by Colgate this past weekend in its first competition since October 2019.
The Bulldogs dominated the event, securing a lead in the first round of play on Saturday and padding that lead in the second round later that day. By the time the tournament, which involved three rounds of 18 holes each, ended on Sunday, Yale had a 15-stroke lead over second-place Seton Hall. The win this weekend was the Blue and White’s first team win since April of 2019, when the team won the Yale Spring Invitational.
“I’m thrilled with how we played as a team this weekend,” men’s golf team member Ben Carpenter ’24 said. “Looking down and seeing a blue Y on my ball while playing encouraged me to keep pushing no matter how well I was playing. This week was a great way to kick off our season and show everyone how deep we are as a team.”
The Colgate-hosted tournament pitted 15 different teams — each fielding six players per squad as opposed to the usual five — against each other. At Colgate’s Lagowitz Memorial, the scores of the best four players from each team each round are summed to determine a winner. All seven of Yale’s men’s golf players traveled to Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, New York, but first year Robert You ’25 competed as an individual this weekend, though he still donned a Yale cap and striped blue polo. A total of 90 golfers competed at the event.
Yale’s best performers this weekend were sophomore Carpenter and captain Teddy Zinsner ’22, who both finished tied for fifth after three rounds. Each boasted a score of 216, which was only two strokes more than tournament winner and Colgate sophomore Dugan McCabe.
“It was very easy to make mistakes on that golf course,” You said. “We played smart in the three rounds and made sure to minimize our mistakes. Some of the greens were very challenging so hitting the ball to the right spot saved us a couple of strokes.”
As a team, Yale led the field in par-four average — the team’s average stroke count for par-four holes across the entire tournament — and finished second in both par-three and par-five average. This consistency across all types of holes was a key factor that led to Yale’s finish as the only team under par after all three rounds.
The tournament is named in honor of the late Colgate golfer Alex Lagowitz, who passed away less than a year after his graduation in 2015. The last time the Elis played this tournament in 2019, they finished fourth out of 16 teams.
“It felt incredible finally getting to suit up and represent Yale on the course,” golfer Blake Brantley ’25 said. “After waiting so long and working so hard these past two years, it was a really cool experience with the guys. Plus, to come out with a team win and get some momentum going forward made it all the more special.”
The Bulldogs tee off again on Sept. 11 at the Doc Gimmler tournament hosted by St. John’s.
Correction, 9/7: The original version of this story stated that the last Yale golf win came at the 2019 Princeton Invitational. In fact, it came at the 2019 Yale Spring Invitational. The photo is also courtesy of Colgate Athletics, not Sheehan. The story has been updated.