M. Golf Takes Fifth at Ivies

Two days after junior Andrew Klein’s playoff win at the 30th annual Lou Flumere Invitational, the Harvard men’s golf team took to the first tee at Metedeconk Country Club on Saturday in hopes of winning its first Ivy League Championship in 28 years. And for the first time in five years, the Crimson had a real chance to capture the individual title with Klein.

After opening rounds of 75 and 74, however, Klein shot a final round 79 to finish tied for sixth, six strokes behind Yale’s Brian Kim, the tournament’s eventual winner.

As a team the Crimson also struggled, combining to shoot a 94-over-par score of 958, good enough for fifth in the eight-team tournament.

The course, with its 6,623 yards of narrow, tree-lined fairways and quick greens seemed well-suited to Harvard’s controlled style of play. The sun, shining for the first time all season, and temperatures in the middle 70s provided a perfect backdrop. Scoring conditions were, simply put, the best the team had seen all spring.

Yet the Crimson was unable to capitalize.

“You would’ve thought it was a good day for scoring but with the wind coming up, tough pin positions and the tees back—the course played very long and difficult,” Klein said.

Another factor that hindered the Harvard’s pursuit of the crown was the tournament’s format, a grueling 54-hole competition requiring two consecutive 27-hole days of golf on Saturday and Sunday.

“The Ivies are definitely draining compared to other matches which are only 18 holes,” said senior Neal Hegge. “Twenty-seven holes a day is mentally and physically a very big drain.”

After the first day of play, the Crimson found itself well below where it had hoped, firmly situated in a tie for fifth with Dartmouth. Klein and freshman D.J. Hynes were the only bright spots for Harvard on opening day with 27-hole scores of five-over-par and 14-over-par, respectively. Klein had positioned himself exactly where he had wanted to be coming into the tournament, well within reach of the lead going into Sunday’s final rounds.

After a good night’s rest and an early morning tee time, Klein continued his steady play with a even-par 36 on his first nine holes on Sunday. He followed that up with four more pars to open the final 18. Klein had finally found his rhythm.

Yet as any golfer knows and as Klein was soon to be reminded, that which the golf Gods giveth they can also taketh away. Knocking his drive behind a tree on the 10th, leaving a bunker shot on the 11th still in the bunker, airmailing the green on the 12th and three-putting the 13th green, Klein saw his visions of Ivy League glory dissolve shot by grimacing shot.

Although he was eventually able to regain his composure and finish out the weekend with five straight pars, the critical damage had already been done. Klein finished with a seven-over-par 79 in the final round, enough to take himself out of contention for good.

“My goal coming in was to play 54 holes of mistake-free golf,” Klein said. “And I came pretty damn close. If it wasn’t for those four holes I would’ve achieved it.”

“I’m very disappointed with our finish at the Ivies,” Hegge said. “Personally, I had a lot of confidence coming in and just folded. I hit some really good shots and some really bad shots. Unfortunately the really bad shots outweighed the others.”

Hegge, a senior playing in his final Ivy League Championship, finished 32-over-par in a tie for 27th. Hegge will be back next fall to complete his senior year, but for several other seniors on the Harvard golf team, their careers officially ended today.

While they will certainly be missed, the remaining members of the team feel confident going into next season. With Hynes, who shot a team-low final round score of 76 and placed 10th overall, in Cambridge for three more years, Klein coming back for one last year and a host of other returning golfers there is much to be optimistic about for next year.

“This year was a year of growing for our team,” Klein said. “We’ve gone through a lot together. But looking to next year we’re going to have a very mature squad going into tournaments and a bunch of guys with great potential.”

For now, though, the Crimson will have to wait at least one more year to hoist the elusive Ivy League trophy, and Klein’s own dream will have to be put on hold.