By JOHN MCGRORTY
This past weekend, the Cornell University men’s golf team competed at the Navy Fall Classic in Annapolis, Maryland. The United States Naval Academy hosted a field of 10 teams to compete in their annual event at the U.S. Naval Academy Course. The course is a par-71 and measures 6,528 yards. Cornell finished in seventh place, beating out Brown University, the only other Ivy in the Classic.
The Red was a frontrunner for the majority of the event, going into the final round in second place at just four shots over Seton Hall, the field leader. Seton Hall went on to win the team portion of the event with an overall score of 1-over-par 569 and the University of Delaware finished just one shot behind the Pirates for second place.
“We played really well on Saturday. Luke Graboyes led the team with a 69, which is really solid golf, and Chris Troy contributed with a 70,” said senior captain Jonathan Kligman. “However, we were disappointed with our performance on Sunday. It was a great experience to be four shots back going into the final round and it is definitely something we can build on in the future.”
Overall, Cornell performed well in the opening matches of the Fall Classic and proved that the very young squad has an abundance of raw talent. Though the Red will certainly need to develop going forward, the team has the talent necessary to generate strong results, according to Kligman.
“Our team needs to keep on doing what we have been doing and playing our own game. We have a very talented young team that just needs to feel comfortable being at the top of the leaderboard.”
Freshman Mike Graboyes was Cornell’s top golfer with an even-par 71 in the final round of the Navy Fall Classic. In the individual portion of the classic, he finished in 13th place. Furthermore, sophomore Luke Graboyes trailed just slightly behind his brother Mike, finishing with a 72 for a two-day total of 146 and 16th overall.
Freshman Christopher Troy shot a 77 in the final round, allowing him to finish tied for 21st in the individual portion with a total of 147. Sophomore Jordan Lerner finished tied for 37th, and Junior Alex Bauman finished 49th.
According to Kligman, the Red looks to continue to develop its young talent and build on its achievements thus far in the coming outings.
“We are very capable of playing great golf. … It’s just a matter of time before things start to come together. We have the Cornell Invitational coming up in two weeks which will be a great opportunity to compete on our home course,” Kligman said.
The Red plays next at home when it hosts the Cornell Invitational, which will be held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course in Ithaca. The Invitational will be a 54-hole outing, taking place over two days. Two rounds of 18 holes will be played on Saturday, Sept. 20 and the final round will take place on Sunday, Sept. 21.