Weather Spoils Golf Invitational

The normally 3-round Cornell Invitational was limited to 18 holes this past weekend as heavy rains throughout Saturday and Sunday cut competition short. The washout proved to be a bitter disappointment for the Red, who was eager to compete in its home tournament. The Red finished fifth, and junior Robert Cronheim was tied for third overall.
“We are very disappointed,” said sophomore Dan Bosse, who finished with a score of 77. “We were looking forward to our home tournament. We first got out there and didn’t play that great; we wanted to get back out and make a turnaround to make a run at it, but we didn’t have the chance. It was a very disappointing weekend.”[img_assist|nid=32209|title=Swingers|desc=Junior Robert Cronheim finished a rain-abbreviated Cornell Invitational tied for third place overall on Saturday|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
Cronheim, who shot a 2-under par 70 for 3rd place, expressed similar sentiments about the outcome of the weekend.
“We were definitely hoping to get back out there,” Cronheim said. “It was really disappointing we didn’t get to play. Personally, I was playing well and felt like I put myself in a good spot to continue to give myself a chance to win. As a team, we had a mediocre round. We felt that if we had had two more rounds, we really could have shown what we are capable of.”
Although the Red was clearly disappointed with its limited performance this weekend, its team score of 297 was still good enough to place 5th out of the 16-team field. Delaware took home the trophy with a total score of 287.
“Eighteen holes for one tournament does not convey what we are capable of doing,” Cronheim said. “We shot a 297 as a team; for our home course, that is not very good. With 3 rounds we really could have given ourselves a shot; but there’s nothing we can do. You can’t control the weather.”
The one rain-soaked round that the tournament did provide forced the Red to alter its approach at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.
“Wet conditions always make the golf course longer,” Bosse said. “The greens slowed up a little bit, allowing for more aggressive approach shots. It definitely had a different feel.”
Unlike most golfers, Cronheim welcomed the harsh weather.
“Personally, I love to play in horrible weather,” Cronheim said. “I love the wind and rain because it allows me to be more creative. As a whole, bad weather is more mentally draining. You have to be that much more precise. It’s a different type of golf, you can’t be over aggressive, you just have to hit solid shots all day and stay in control of your ball.”
“When I put on the rain pants,” Cronheim said, “all of the sudden my game shows up.”