Golf to play 2002 Open course

Fresh off its first taste of victory, the Penn golf team hopes to ride the wave to another winning performance this weekend at the St. John's Invitational, held at the Bethpage Golf Club, a public course on Long Island. Bethpage, recently named the site of the 2002 U.S. Open, should prove an impressive test for the entire field. "The best teams in the region will be there, including most of the Ivies," Penn coach Francis Vaughn said. "It will be a definite tune-up for the Ivy Championships." Bethpage has served as host course to the Ivy League Championships since 1987. Sending a team of senior captain Justin Cotler, junior Adam Bradshaw and sophomore Brian Owens along with three players yet to be determined, the Quakers are ready for the Saturday-Sunday format. While Penn is hoping to continue on the way up the East Coast golf ladder, the opportunity to play such a prestigious course always adds extra incentive for a golfer. "Obviously for the USGA to pick it as an Open venue is a tribute in itself," Vaughn said. Vaughn did note, however, that the course will not be in U.S. Open condition this weekend. "The golf course itself is an excellent layout," Vaughn said. But in the next few years, both the USGA and the State of New York will be injecting five million dollars to improve the course, particularly the areas around the greens. Bethpage has four courses besides the long course Penn will be playing this weekend. This makes Bethpage rather unique, since it is not only rare for a public course to be rewarded a U.S. Open, but it also does not fit the mold of an expensive public track such as Pebble Beach or Pinehurst, previous public sites awarded the Open. "Bethpage is carved through the woods," Vaughn said. Unlike the Bucknell tournament, where the Quakers needed to concentrate on accuracy over distance, both virtues will be rewarded at Bethpage. Nine of the 11 par fours at the par-71, 7,065-yard course measure over 400 yards. Where the top Penn golfers were able to hit low irons off many tees at Bucknell, at Bethpage, "you must hit every club in the bag," Vaughn said. With an excellent opportunity to tune-up for the Quakers' primary focus, the Ivy Championships, Penn also hopes to keep its newfound winning streak alive. With most of Penn's Ivy competition present this weekend, Penn should be able to use its performance as a barometer of things to come.