Plagued by poor weather and rough shooting conditions, the men’s golf team finished 13th of 15 schools at the Princeton Invitational in New Jersey.
According to senior captain Brandon Eng, the weather played a large factor in the team’s disappointing finish.
“The weather was exceptionally bad, especially for when we were scheduled to play,” he said. “The wind was relentless, the rain had turned into slow and sleet and we were so cold that we couldn’t feel our hands.”
The differing climates between Princeton and Florida — where the Red captured first place of three in the Cornell Spring South Florida Invitational last weekend — made adjusting to the Princeton course especially difficult, Eng noted.
“In Florida, when all we had to deal with was wind, we played very well,” he said. “At Princeton, we had to wear many layers of clothing that restricted our movement.”
Even though as a team, the men finished 13th, there were some bright spots among individual golfers. Junior Luke Graboyes finished first among the Cornell squad shooting one-over par after 36 holes, good enough for No. 12 overall at the invitational.
“Graboyes stood out this week,” Eng said. “He was able to hold his score together the first day despite the extremely poor weather conditions. And on the second day, he was able to take advantage of the better conditions and score better.”
Despite the team’s placing, the men are looking to the future as they continue their fight to an Ivy League championship.
“Overall, I think the team could have done much better this past weekend, but we’ll take is a learning experience,” Eng said. “[We have] to get used to competing in poor weather conditions again.”
When it comes to the Ivy championship, Eng mentioned how the team does not just have to get prepared from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one as well.
“We all know that we can play well, we just have to go out there and do it,” he said. “Part of doing well is being comfortable in your environment. Clearly, we were not comfortable coming back and trying to play in 30 degree weather after practicing in 80 degree weather.”