Top talent returns for defending Ivy men's golf champions

For the fourth time in the last five years, members of the men's golf team will begin the season with an Ivy League bullseye affixed to their orange and black polo shirts. The Tigers won last spring's conference tournament by an astounding 18 shots, as then-sophomore Jason Gerken and then-freshman John Sawin finished 1-2 individually.

In fact, Princeton's win was so dominant that it prompted several coaches whose teams failed to successfully manage the course to complain about the difficulty of the layout at Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson. As a result of the complaints, the tournament will be moved to a different site this year.

"Personally, I love Metedeconk," senior Creighton Page said. "It is certainly difficult, but there is no doubt that it is great for tournament play. Of course, in a tournament like last year's, where the disparity between teams was so apparent, a lot of the schools felt a little overpowered by the course."

Yale, in particular, had a difficult time navigating the natural hazards that define most Pine Barrens-area courses. The Bulldogs finished a distant fourth while trying to defend their 2003 title.

Unfortunately for the rest of the Ivies, the tournament's location will likely have little effect on the outcome. Princeton returns all but one golfer from last year's squad, losing only Greg Johnson '04 to graduation.

Heading up the list of returning players is defending league champion Gerken. Though the junior has consistently been the low scorer for the Tigers, that victory was his first individual title in his collegiate career.

"Jason has played amazingly for us over the last two years," Page said. "It is amazing the consistency with which he puts himself in contention in every tournament."

Page, one of two seniors on the squad — the other is Dave Huestis — should also help the Tigers in their 2004-05 campaign. Page has played in every tournament since the spring of his freshman year and has been an integral part of two Ivy championship squads. He placed fourth in last spring's Princeton Invitational, helping the Tigers to a team win.

The other returning star is Sawin, whose runner-up finish at Ivies marked his best performance during his first season at Princeton. The sophomore played in every tournament last spring and seems primed for a breakout season this year.

"John is a talented player with a lot of potential that he started to show us last spring," Page said. "He's been playing all summer, and he's the guy that I'm really expecting good things out of this year."

Of the five spots available on each team for a tournament, the final two will likely come down to three players — juniors Jesse Dixon and John Locke, and sophomore Brent Herlihy. All three have significant tournament experience and should rotate into the lineup based on how well they are striking the ball in a given week.

Though spring is the main golf season — the Princeton Invitational, Ivy Championship and NCAAs are all in the spring — the fall season can still have a meaningful impact on the team's postseason chances. With tournaments against schools in the same district, Princeton has the opportunity to build up district points, which factor into NCAA seedings.

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The biggest tournament of the fall will come the weekend of October 9 and 10, at the James Madison Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va. That tournament generally includes the strongest mix of district schools and provides a barometer as to how Princeton will stack up against the top teams in the northeast.

The season kicks off tomorrow and Sunday at the Navy Fall Classic in Annapolis, Md.