Men's golf opened its fall season this weekend at the Navy Fall Invitational. Junior Jason Gerken paced the Tigers, finishing tied for second overall as Princeton finished sixth as a team.
The Tigers led the tournament after the first of two rounds at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course in Annapolis, Md. The team's combined scored of 296 led George Washington by three points.
Playing leapfrog
After the second round, George Washington was still just behind Princeton, but five teams had leapfrogged them, leaving the Tigers in sixth place and the Colonials in seventh.
Towson shot five strokes better than any other school in the second round with a team score of 281. The school's 303 in the first round was good enough to keep it in contention, and the stellar second round secured an eight-stroke win over Winthrop.
Princeton's total score of 599 was 15 strokes behind Towson and 31 strokes over par.
Gerken, the defending Ivy League champion, shot a two-over-par 73 in the first round, putting him in solid contention for the win — only two strokes behind William & Mary's Tim Pemberton halfway through the weekend's competition.
Second-round charge
The scoring average dropped over a stroke per player in the second round, but Gerken dropped three strokes to finish the tournament at one over par. His second-round 70 gave him a combined score of 143, tying him with Pemberton, along with Winthrop's Luke Elfner and Loyola College's Matt Bassler.
Sean Seese of St. Joseph's took the individual title, one stroke ahead of Gerken, with an even-par 142. He had started the second round one stroke behind Pemberton and one ahead of Gerken.
Princeton's other finishers were the key the team's high finish in the overall standings that included 18 teams.
Sophomore John Sawin was second on the team. He finished tied for 21st at seven over par, shooting 73-76-149.
Senior Creighton Paige was the next Tiger to show up, one shot behind Sawin in a tie for 27th place. He shot 74-76-150.
Sophomore Brent Herlihy finished tied for 78th at 18 over par. Junior Jesse Dixon was Princeton's fifth finisher, at 20 over par, in a tie for 84th place.
The future
The men's golf team takes the next weekend off before heading to Sunset Beach, N.C. for the Sea Trail / Elon Invitational on Sept. 25 and 26.
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