Amid soggy conditions, men's golf finishes fifth

Author: Kyle Goodenough

Over the weekend, 26 teams traveled to Middlebury for the 25th annual Duke Nelson Invitational. The tournament is held in honor of Walter J. "Duke" Nelson who joined the coaching ranks at Middlebury immediately after his graduation in 1932. He was a beloved golf coach and mentor.

This year, competing in the Invitational for the 25th year in a row, the Panthers placed fifth on their home turf at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course.

The men's finish left them 23 strokes behind Skidmore, who placed first in the tournament for the third year in a row. With NYU and Trinity following closely behind Skidmore, the men were forced out of a top three finish on their home turf, a course that is scenic, but challenging - especially on the back nine.

While the team came up short at the Invitational, we have seen in past years that the Duke Nelson is not always the best predictor of what is to come. Last year, after a few tough rounds, Middebury placed seventh in the tournament. Displeased with their play, the men made some crucial adjustments and placed second behind Williams at the NESCAC Championship. Who can say what will happen this year?

Mike McCormick '09 is confident that some short game practice this week will give the team the extra boost to stick it to Williams next weekend.

"We definitely can win the Williams tournament," he said, "if we play well and don't let small mistakes sidetrack us on the course."

These small mistakes seem to have hindered the overall performance of the team this past weekend. While the Panthers played at home, this advantage did not prove extremely helpful to the team. After a hot, sticky round on Saturday, the team finished the day in ninth place, trailing by a deficit that would be tough to overcome.

On Sunday morning, as the first group of golfers placed its tees and prepared to play their second round of golf, the rain began to beat down heavily on the fairway. Despite the wet conditions and the slow greens, the players stepped up their play as their second round score improved from the day before - but not by enough to land the team a top-three finish. Jimmy Levins '11 lead the team with an overall score of 152 (74-78), followed closely by McCormick with 153 (76-77) in the tournament.

The Panthers graduated George Baumann '08, their number one player last spring, and have been feeling the effects of this loss since. The team will surely have its hands full in an effort to fill his shoes, but each member is eager to step up and prove that this season will really be a hole-in-one.

"Every person improved over the summer." McCormick said. "We're eager to show that we can go low as a team."