Courtesy of Colin Sheehan '97

The Yale’s men’s golf team finished fourth out of 14 teams last weekend at The Doc Gimmler, a tournament hosted by St. John’s at the historic Bethpage Red course.

The Bulldogs finished the first round on Saturday in first place and by the end of the second round were in second place behind fellow Ivy League opponent Columbia. But after Sunday’s round, the team dropped two spots to finish fourth, six shots behind tournament winner Columbia.

Yale’s best performer this weekend was Sho Wai Wu ’23, who finished tied third overall and two strokes behind the tournament champion, Villanova’s Peter Weaver. Wu tied for first in par-4 average, finishing with a score of 3.97, or one under par, for par-4 holes that weekend. As a team, Yale led the field in par-3 average with a cumulative score of 3 under par.

“In spite of the disappointing final round, I am pleased with the team’s progress through two events,” head coach Colin Sheehan ’97 said. “There is a terrific camaraderie among the players, and they each share a willingness to do whatever necessary to be fully prepared to play their best golf in competition.”

In an email interview with the News, Sheehan drew specific attention to Wu’s positive attitude and golfer Ben Carpenter ’25, who has had five of six of his tournament rounds count for the Bulldogs this year. The first year finished the weekend tied for 12th with a score of 2 over par.

“[Carpenter] is making an immediate impact on the team and I am excited to see his development continue,” Sheehan said.

Yale golfers Gabriel Ruiz ’24, Carpenter, Wu, Darren Lin ’22 and captain Teddy Zinsner ’22 represented the official Bulldog squad this weekend, while first-year Robert You ’25 competed as an individual, meaning that his scores were not eligible for the team’s total tally. He occupied the same role at last weekend’s Lagowitz Memorial. First-year golfer Blake Brantley ’25 traveled with the team but did not participate in the event.

“It definitely wasn’t the end result we were all looking for,” Zinsner said. “It’s always tough when you put yourself in a position to win and don’t, but I think now we’re all just even more ready to work hard the next couple weeks to get ready for our home event.”

Carpenter expressed a similar sentiment.

“We really couldn’t get anything going this week,” Carpenter said. “Personally, I just couldn’t get the ball close to the hole on the greens and therefore didn’t make many birdies. Luckily we have a week off to rest up and get ready for our home event.”

A week before The Doc Gimmler, the men’s golf team won the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational hosted by Colgate in dominating fashion, with 15 strokes separating the Bulldogs and second-place Seton Hall.

In September 2019, the last time the Bulldogs played The Doc Gimmler, they finished in second place.

Bethpage Red is a par-70 course with a total yardage of 7,092.

EUGENIO GARZA GARCíA
Eugenio Garza García covers baseball, golf and athletic phasing. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, he is a sophomore in Branford College majoring in Economics and English.