After two tournaments to kickstart the 2026-27 season, Penn men’s golf is still finding its footing.
The Quakers opened their campaign with a strong sixth-place finish out of 13 teams at the par-72 Seven Oaks Golf Club Alex Lagowitz Memorial in Hamilton, N.Y. Three weeks later, they placed ninth out of 11 teams at a rain-shortened Macdonald Cup in New Haven, Conn. Along the way, eight different Quakers have teed it up, from senior Hayden Adams to freshmen Oliver Uribe and Sean Curran.
A turnaround in Hamilton
For the fifth straight year, the Quakers opened their season at Colgate’s Alex Lagowitz Memorial, a 54-hole event with 36 holes packed into the first day.
The morning didn’t go as planned — Penn sat eight over par after the opening round.
After regrouping, the Quakers quickly turned it around later that afternoon. Collectively, they ended the second round at 4 under, a score only Colgate and Villanova topped. Sophomore Kayden Wang drew the spotlight, carding a 4-under-par 68 in the second round, Penn’s lowest round of the weekend.
By the end of the tournament, the Quakers shot 873, or nine over par, across three rounds to finish sixth, placing ahead of seven teams, including Ivy League rival Cornell, who they beat by nine strokes. Wang finished at 3-under-par 213, tied for fifth in a field of 84 golfers and the best finish of his career.
What worked especially well for Wang was his short game. “Putting has always been the stronger part of my game, so it was nice for everything to come together and end up with a good finish,” Wang said.
A first look at the Ivy League in New Haven, Conn.
Last weekend, the Quakers traveled up to New Haven, Conn. for their second tournament of the season, playing at the 48th Macdonald Cup at Yale Golf Course. The event offered a preview of the conference race, with all eight Ivy League teams in the 11-team field. The tournament was initially set for 54 holes, but heavy downpour and strong winds in the New Haven area from the weekend nor’easter forced an early cancellation, cutting the event short to a single round of 18 holes.
In the lone round on Friday, the Quakers shot 27 over par overall to place ninth. Junior Ryan Chang, making his first start of the season after a knee injury forced him to miss the season opener at Colgate, led the Quakers as their lowest scorer with a 2-over-par 72. That left Chang tied for sixth place in a field of 68 total competitors from 11 men’s collegiate golf programs, his best performance since his top-six finish at the Wildcat Fazio Invite last spring.
Coming into the tournament, Chang knew the playing conditions would be anything but ideal. But with the support of his twin sister and older brother, who both currently attend Yale, and his experience having played at the course before, Chang said that he was “trying to take it one shot at a time, trust [his] game, and be grateful to be healthy and back competing with the team.”
“Golf can be really mentally demanding, and I’ve gotten better at keeping things in perspective, focusing on what I can control, and remembering to enjoy it,” Chang wrote in a statement.
When asked what worked for him after securing his T6 finish in New Haven, Conn., Chang emphasized that finding joy in the sport made it easier to “bounce back from a bad round or a tough stretch.” Chang attributes much of his success to the support of his coaches and teammates, who push him to become a better version of himself while enjoying the sport.
Looking ahead
Next up, the Quakers head to Scotland to play the St. Andrews Links Collegiate at the illustrious home of golf from Oct. 12-14 for their last tournament of the fall season.
The tournament will be broadcast on the Golf Channel as Penn plays at one of the world’s oldest and most well-known golf courses. Though playing at the “home of golf” is special to many golfers, Chang is most excited to share the experience with his teammates while being cheered on and supported by family and Penn men’s golf alumni.
Despite the attention of playing on the big stage, the Quakers are trying not to get ahead of themselves and plan to treat it like any other tournament.
“We want to stay committed to our process and keep focusing on one of our main goals this season, which is limiting double bogeys and other big numbers,” Chang wrote. “If we can play smart, stay present, and do that, I think we’ll put ourselves in a good position.”
