SPORTS BRIEF: M. Golf Struggles, Places 15th at MacDonald Cup

On a weekend where the nation celebrates Christopher Columbus finding the Americas, a few Crimson golfers had problems finding the fairway.

Competing against a tough field including champion Binghamton and regional power Rhode Island, the Harvard men’s golf team placed last at the Macdonald Cup hosted by Yale. After a disappointing showing at last week’s Mulekicker Fall Classic, the Crimson fared even worse this weekend, posting only eight sub-80 rounds out of 15 total.

After the first round, Harvard, with a combined score of 318, was tied for last place. Though the team then executed slightly better, carding a second-round 315, a final round 318 secured its spot outright at the bottom of the standings.

Harvard’s inexperience continued to hurt it, with freshman Sam Lissner and sophomore Thomas Hegge finishing in the bottom half of the individual standings.

Senior Cliff Ryan’s 89-81-90-260 placed him 80th and weighed down the team significantly.

Junior D.J. Hynes once again led the Crimson, shooting 77-77-77-231, but his effort was only enough to tie him for 35th place. Captain Chris Wu performed better in his first round, recording a 76, but a 79 and a 78 set him back to 44th place.

Looking ahead, Harvard only has two tournaments left in its remaining fall schedule. While the golfers will have next weekend off, they’ll return to the fray on the following Monday at the NEIGA Championships in Brewster, Mass.