M. Golf 7th at ECACs

After some encouraging practice rounds last week, Harvard junior Steven Mungovan wasn’t at all blown away when he turned in the round of his career Saturday at the ECAC Championship.

After a blustery final round to the tournament, however, the same could not be said for the Harvard men’s golf team’s title hopes.

Pestery winds made for a tougher second day of competition at Hiawatha Landing in Apalachin, N.Y., as Harvard fell 25 shots off its opening-round pace to finish seventh overall.

Binghamton, playing on its home course and buoyed by top finisher Adam Fuchs’ 2-over 146, shot 292-296—588 to capture its first-ever ECAC crown.

The Crimson (300-325—625) had begun play Sunday in second place—just eight strokes behind the leader—before the elements wreaked their havoc.

“The wind really kicked up on us and that made it a much tougher golf course,” said junior Andrew Klein, who nonethless finished just one stroke behind Fuchs, carding a 3-over 147.

Like almost all of his teammates, Klein played his best round on Saturday. He sizzled on the front nine, and his birdie on the 431-yard No. 8—“a beast” of a hole, he said—helped him reach 2-under heading onto the back stretch.

Klein finished the round with a 1-under 71.

But the story of the day was being played out two groups behind Klein, as Mungovan rattled off a string of solid pars on the back nine. The strong finish capped the best round of the weekend, a 3-under 69.

“I wouldn’t say I surprised myself. I’d been playing well all week in practice,” Mungovan said. “My ball-striking was good and I was putting pretty well, too.”

“It was definitely the best round of my Harvard career,” he added.

With the holes lengthened and the winds opposing him on Sunday, Mungovan wasn’t able to deliver an encore performance in his final round. He shot a 10-over 82 and settled for a share of eighth place for the weekend.

After Mungovan, senior Neal Hegge was Harvard’s next highest finisher, carding a 19-over 163 to earn a tie for 52nd place.

Sophomore Chris Wu (79-86—165, 58th place) and freshman D.J. Hines (85-85—170, 74th) rounded out the Crimson’s scoring.