Green Swats Errant Golfers

The Dartmouth golfers riddled the Crimson Saturday over the Hanover Country Club, as the entire big Green squad posted sub-eighty rounds.

"We got whopped" was captain Scott McNealy's appraisal of the 23-stroke debacle, as Dartmouth wound up with a composite score of 275. In fact, the linksters low-ball score for nine holes was a 39 which equaled Dartmouth's top tally for the halfway mark.

Senior Bobby Thompson carded a 79 while playing number two to make him Harvard's medalist. Thompson's clutch holes were the seventh and the par three 160-yard seventeenth. On the seventh, a par four, he split the narrow fairway with a 4-wood off the tee and gouged a wedge that skipped up against the flagstick. He bladed an eight iron for his second ringer of the day but missed the birdie putt.

Not Scott Free

Thompson never stayed scott free from the greased lightning greens and meandering woods that snafued his teammates. He punched approach shots over the third and fourth greens and resorted to cutting choked down wedges from out of the woods to salvage the opening holes.

Alex Vik soared to an 81, dropping 6 strokes to Dartmouth's number one Jerry Daly, who coasted to a 75. "I didn't take it too seriously," Vik said after the match, "I partied the night before. It was just another round."

Paxton and freshman Gene Purdy fired workmanlike rounds of 79 and 80 respectively but had trouble negotiating Hanover's stubby, dried out and overall scabrous greens. The two fell prey to the general inability to get pitch shots up and down, as Purdy nailed 14 greens but 3-putted five.

Chagrin

McNealy winced home with an 85 at number five, pitted against Big Green co-captain Mike Gleason, who hails from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. "My scores have just gotten a little worse each match," McNealy said despondently.

Joe Hinley paced the Dartmouth lineup that boasts all eight lettermen from last year with a 72, while seniors Gleason and Daly both strung together 75s. Daly averaged 74.3 as a sophomore and has competed in four NCAA tournaments.

Daly will be making his fifth bid to qualify for the NCAA championship this Thursday and Friday in New England Division One, which the Crimson contingent enters as defending titleholders.

"We could salvage our season if we played well next week," said McNealy but was quick to point out "everybody's tough for us the way we've been playing right now."