M. Golf: Rogers leads Quakers in wet conditions at James Madison

Not much changed this week for the Penn men's golf team and unfortunately for the Quakers, that meant another week of poor tee shots and sloppy short games.

The Quakers emerged with a 12th place finish from the rain-soaked course at James Madison University, 31 strokes behind tournament champion Georgetown.

However, all was not lost for Penn. For the second tournament in a row, sophomore Derek Rogers proved why he has become the leader of this young Quakers team, placing ninth overall.

Rogers paced the Penn men's golf team, shooting even par for the tournament, with a two-under 69 in the final round.

"The way he was hitting the ball, he should have shot a 65 or 66," Penn coach Heath Davidson said. "Derek's putts just weren't dropping the way he would have liked."

Davidson also had nothing but praise for freshman Patrick Cooper, who finished second for Penn, shooting plus-two overall and placing 15th.

"I'm very proud of Patrick," Davidson said. "He bounced back from last week's tournament showing poise and maturity that are rare for someone his age. He just seems to be getting better every day."

However, the young Cooper still has some adjustments to make.

"I felt I was striking the ball well all around the course, but I really need to work on my decision-making process and short game," Cooper said. "I have to get better focused right out of the gate. It is easy to focus when your back is against the wall. I need to bring that intensity from the get-go."

Cooper wasn't the only golfer struggling with his short game this weekend. Davidson listed the short game as his top priority for the Quakers in the next two weeks of practice.

"This team is young, with three new kids in the starting lineup," Davidson said. "We may be struggling a bit with the putter and wedge, but we're going in the right direction. I'm confident that with two more weeks of practice before our next tournament, we can make some big improvements."

Princeton was the only other Ivy League school in the tournament. The Tigers finished 13 shots in front of the Red and Blue at plus-12.

Although the Quakers did not play to the best of their abilities, Davidson thinks they are in a good position for the rest of the season.

"I'm pretty pleased with their first- and second-round performance," Davidson said. "But I wanted a better third round. I guess we just left a few shots out on the course."

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