Golfers Fourth in NCAA Trail, Eighth in Eastern

A quintet of Crimson golfers spent a long weekend on the road playing the two most illustrious collegiate golf tournaments in the Northeast back-to-back. On Friday, the linksmen failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament, finishing a fading fourth in the 36-hole NCAA New England Qualifying event held at the Pleasant Valley Country Club. At least a measure of solace was gained over the weekend when the squad finished an upbeat eighth in the Easterns, a tournament that attracts golfing powerhouses from Delaware to New York.

Providence led the NCAA qualifying tourney the entire way, eventually winning with a team aggregate of 620 strokes. Holy Cross posted a total of 634 to finish as runner up. Harvard needed 640 strokes to wind up one stroke in back of Yale and a stroke ahead of Dartmouth.

The Crimson had beaten every contender for the NCAA berth in the course of the season, including the Friars, with the exception of Holy Cross. Pleasant Valley is the Crusaders' home course.

The biggest damper on the tournament was the tawdry condition of the course itself. Crimson captain Alex Vik said, "I haven't talked to one player who had anything positive to say about that place."

Vik failed to qualify for the NCAAs on an individual basis, finishing in a tie for ninth with number two man Spence Fitzgibbons at 157. He never found his putting touch on the pock-marked greens that were punctured for areation purposes.

On the eighth hole of his morning round, Vik had a putt stopped by the metal rim of the cup which was protruding above the surface of the green. He went on to four putt the next hole.

Fitzgibbons shot a 76 for his first 18 circuit that placed him in second place. He faltered to an 81 on Friday. His Waterloo proved to be the eighth hole. Fitzgibbons took a double bogey trying to steer the ball away from the out of bounds on the right when he nestled in the left rough instead.

The squad found itself in a more favorable venue over the weekend at the West Point Golf Club where the Easterns were contested. Coach Bob Donovan showered the tournament with praise, saying "I never expected to see a college tournament run this well in the East. The scorekeeping system was great. The hospitality was great. There were forecaddies on every hole and people carrying leaderboards in the final round. There was walkie talkie communication between the tournament marshals."

The Easterns serve as the NCAA qualifying event for Division One colleges in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. "We played better golf because there was a better field, better players, and it was better run," said Donovan.

The University of Delaware won the tourney by only one stroke over Navy while Princeton finished third ahead of host squad Army and last year's winner, Temple. Then came Colgate, Villanova, and the Crimson.

After the first round of play on Saturday, Harvard's number four player Dave Paxton reeled off a 73 to put him only two shots behind the tourney leaders, Yale's Peter Tervainen and Delaware's Shawn Prendergast.

Tervainen has haunted the Crimson the entire season. He hung on to beat Vik by two strokes in the Ivy League Championships and was medalist the day before in the NCAA qualifying with rounds of 77 and 73.

Fitzgibbons was behind Paxton with a 77. They were followed by Tom Edwards at 80, Jim Dales at 81, and Vik at 83.

Paxton brandished a rapier-sharp putter throughout the round. He avoided the major hazards posed by the six tantalizingly close but potentially lethal parthrees on the West Point course designed by Robert Trent Jones. Paxton nailed transcontinental putts for birdies on the pair of closing par fives, the 17th and 18th, to finish three over par.

Paxton slipped to an 80 on Sunday, taking a triple bogey on the 15th, but Vik forged a sparkling round of 70 from the pressure packed crucible of the closing 18. "Alex showed everyone what kind of a player he is today," said Donovan, as Vik had displayed only ephemeral brilliance through most of the season.

While Vik was racking up the low round for the tournament, Prendergast and Tervainen were engaged in a tooth and nail battle for medalist honors. Tervainen was comfortably in front of the green in two while Prendergast hit a drive that hooked to earth like a shot grouse. "He just quacked the sucker," said Donovan. "It was the worst shot I've ever seen. Everyone was gasping."

Prendergast located his ball in a plugged lie behind a menacing mound. He took his heartiest cut and the ball appeared in the midst of a moving hash, travelling well, and alighted 15-feet from the pin.

Tervainen meanwhile three putted, which sewed up the medalist spot for Prendergast. However, he still needed to sink the putt to win the tourney for Delaware. He coolly bladed the putt and stared it down into the cup.

It was a fitting finish to a climatic season for the Crimson linksters