Crimson Golfers Shoot Poorly, Fall to Weak Crusader Squad

The Crimson golfers' barnstorming trip through the East hit a major snag yesterday as Holy Cross dumped the golfers by a six-stroke margin.

"We played like shit," one golfer Tom Yellin said. The golfers, who have always had at least one man under 80 before, could manage only an 81 by Steve McConnell and 82s by Yellin, Quinn Smith and Art Burke.

How Weird It Was

Yellin said, "We're better at every position by five shots than they are. They had one guy who shot a 75 and he was wearing tennis shoes. That's how weird it was."

The golfers had reeled off eight straight victories after a double loss in the season opener before yesterday's defeat.

McConnell said that the course at Worcester is a good one but that the greens were in very poor condition. "We play the best on good greens. We're a really good putting golf team," McConnell explained.

The defeat may help spur the golfers on in the Eastern Intercollegiate tournament at Penn State on Saturday. "We have to prove that we're better than this," Yellin said. "We got a kick in the ass and maybe it'll help us out."

Shot at the Finals

Yellin added that if the team does well in the Easterns and if they can beat Dartmouth, Yale and Princeton to capture the Ivy League crown, they will have a good shot at going to the NCAA finals. However, Yellin said, "Yesterday's performance doesn't help us much in that respect."

The golfers are going to Penn State on Friday morning to get in a day of practice before the Easterns start on Saturday, Yellin said.

There were other extenuating circumstances in yesterday's match besides the poor greens. "There were bugs all over the place," McConnell said. "The place is low and there's a swamp in the middle of the course. Between the bugs and the bad greens we had our troubles."