Awk-waaard.
For 14 years, Scott Allen headed the golf program at George Washington. But this past weekend, Allen got a look at the Colonials from the other side of the tee box - as Penn's head coach. He even helped GW with some administrative duties at yesterday's Rehoboth Beach Tournament.
The Quakers competed in the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md., on Friday and Saturday, and then drove up yesterday for the tournament at Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Penn finished a disappointing eighth at Navy, 28 shots behind winner GW, and first at Rehoboth Beach, edging the Colonials by four strokes.
"It was nice to even the score this weekend and get a little revenge on GW," Allen said. "But I was glad to see them play well at Navy - if we're not going to win, it might as well be GW."
Consistency was the difference for the Quakers in the two tournaments. Although senior Mike Blodgett was even-par at Navy and finished fourth, Ben Cohen and Bill McCrossan were 18th and 20th, effectively cancelling out Blodgett's score.
The Annapolis layout is relatively forgiving, but its greens are fast and undulating. The Quakers' poor course management prevented them from getting in good position, setting up their approach shots and sticking the ball close to the pin.
Even though Rehoboth Beach has far more penalty areas and narrower fairways, the Red and Blue's ability to execute allowed them to avoid trouble and take advantage of the softer, easier greens.
"Some guys lost their focus [at Navy] and weren't able to finish as well as we'd like," Allen said. "[Yesterday], we played smart and stuck to our game plan better than the other schools."
Blodgett paced Penn in both tournaments. The defending Ivy League individual champion placed fourth at the Navy Invitational and won by six shots at Kings Creek.
At first, it didn't look like the weekend would get off to such a smooth start for him. On just his second hole at Navy, he miscalculated his approach shot, hit it over the green and made a double-bogey after failing to get up and down.
The senior was unfazed and steadied himself, staying at 2-over on the round, firing a 69 the next day and finishing at even-par for the tournament.
"Anytime you shoot in the 60s, that's going to make you feel good," Blodgett said. "It was a great confidence-booster."
He continued to work in his groove yesterday, where his steady control game was perfectly suited to the demanding Rehoboth Beach course.
While other golfers were hitting themselves into trouble, Blodgett played it safe, going 70-69 to cruise to a six-shot win for the individual championship. Not until the final hole, where he pulled his drive out-of-bounds, did he take a penalty stroke.
