Golf competes with best of the East at Navy Invite

The Penn golf team opened its spring season with a very good showing at the Navy Invitational. Played at the US Naval Academy Golf Club, the Quakers tied for ninth in the 26-team field, 24 strokes behind Invite champion Penn State. The Quakers' overall score of 617 is composed of the best four scores of the five playing golfers from each day. While Penn shot a 319 on day one, a score higher than expected, the Red and Blue came back and shot a 298 on Sunday morning, tied for the lowest score in the field. "After not having a really good first day, we came out and played our hearts out on day two," Quakers freshman Rob Goldfaden said. One reason for the Quakers' success Sunday morning was the rain that invaded Annapolis, Md., in the late afternoon. "It was an advantage for us teeing off in the morning. We were able to avoid the rain that plagued afternoon play. This advantage helped us to shoot the lowest team score of the day," Penn sophomore Brian Owens said. Leading the way individually for Penn was junior Adam Bradshaw, the team's consistent top player. Bradshaw shot 73-74, good enough to finish tied for fifth in a field of 135 golfers. Owens also fared well, tying for 25th with a two-day total of 154. Goldfaden and junior Jay Weintraub both tied for 52nd with combined totals of 158. Weintraub's 158 was slightly more interesting, considering he shot an 84 on the first day, and then got it together to drop 10 strokes off his score, shooting 74 Sunday morning. Freshman Rob Hunt was the fifth Quaker to compete, finishing tied for 104th with a two-day total of 166. While Penn began the tournament slowly, its eventual strong finish left a good mark in the minds of Penn's linksters. Competing against a talent-laden field, the fact that Penn gained its composure for day two is seen by the team as a harbinger of good things to come. "Our performance showed that Penn can compete with anyone in the country," Goldfaden said. "We have the ability and now we know it. I think we should dominate the Ivy Championships." Penn, which entered the Navy Invite ranked 10th in the Eastern region, competed against eight of the nine teams ranked ahead of them and did quite well. One of the most positive signs from the Quakers' performance is that they played well against the top teams in the East, teams who had more tournament experience from earlier in the spring, and teams that Penn would need to beat to advance to the NCAA Championships. "It was a real big step for Penn golf to be able to go out there against one of the strongest fields in the East," Goldfaden said. The Quakers are not slated to play again until April 19-20 when Penn will play in the Ivy Championships at Bethpage Golf Club. Penn's golfers feel they are poised to win their first title in what seems like eons, and Adam Bradshaw sums up the entire teams position quite nicely. "This (the Navy Invite performance) sets us up really well for the Ivy Championships."