Men's golf starts quickly, fades fast at Adams Cup

For the Penn men’s golf team, a fast start ended in a slow finish.

Sitting in third place after the first round of the Adams Cup of Newport tournament early Monday, the Red and Blue faded badly into the pack to ultimately post an eighth-place showing.

Playing their first match under new coach Bob Heintz, the Quakers were only three strokes behind Central Florida and Yale after a combined 289-stroke showing, nine over par, during the first round.

Though the par-70 Newport Country Club treated the Red and Blue well on their first go-around Monday, round two was not nearly as kind.

The Quakers’ total score inflated to 312 strokes in the second round, as steadily increasing wind gusts bamboozled the team.

Things did not improve after the team departed to the links-style, par-71 Carnegie Abbey for Tuesday’s final round.

In fact, Carnegie Abbey yielded near-identical results, as the Red and Blue were able to shave off just a single stroke relative to their round-two performance, posting a score of 311.

The inability to rebound from the second round proved fatal to the team’s hopes, as Penn fell to eighth place out of 12 total teams competing.

Though the team did not experience collective success, it did have some impressive individual showings.

The Red and Blue’s best performer was, ironically, their only team member competing as an individual. Sophomore Ben Cooley’s overall score of 219 was good for a tie for seventh place in a field of 68 men.

The best scorer in the team lineup for the Quakers was junior Max Marsico.

After a first round score of 67, Marsico appeared to be in contention for an individual title.

However, like the team, Marsico faded in the second and third rounds, posting scores of 78 and 76, respectively, dropping him to a tie for 11th overall in the field.

The Quakers will not have to wait long for a chance to redeem themselves, though, as Monday’s Rehoboth Beach Invitational looms in the distance.

SEE ALSO

Penn men’s golf in sixth with one round to play

Bob Heintz hired as new men’s golf coach

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.