The men's golf team had a strong conference showing at this weekend's Big 5 Championship in Philadelphia, beating three of the seven Ivy League teams that participated. The team's weekend score of 637 earned them 14th place in the field of 19 teams playing at the par-70 Philmont Country Club.
"It was nice to be in contention after the first day," said co-captain JD Ardell '13 - the Bears were in a three-way tie for 10th place after their first round. "It's too bad it didn't pan out, but the silver lining is that we beat three Ivy League teams."
Bruno finished ahead of Ivy League foes Dartmouth, Penn and Cornell, all of whom finished ahead of the Bears in last spring's Ivy League Golf Championship.
"I'm very encouraged by our finish ahead of three other Ivy League teams," said Head Coach Michael Hughes.
Bruno's scores were higher compared to many of their earlier rounds this season, but this was true for much of the field. High winds and difficult pin placements made the course more challenging than most the Bears have seen this fall.
"The average score on Saturday was around an 81," Hughes said. "It was very windy and the greens got pretty quick. At the same time, everybody had the same conditions."
Nelson Hargrove '13.5 ably combated the tough conditions and finished first among the Bears for the second consecutive tournament. Hargrove started his second round tied for 16th in the tournament. He finished 29th individually with a 156, shooting 77 on Saturday and 79 on Sunday.
Peter Callas '14 was within striking distance of the top of the leaderboard after a strong round of 78 on Saturday. He finished one stroke behind Hargrove to finish 34th individually in the tournament.
"Peter and Nelson were in the top of the event for pars made," Hughes said. "They were a few shots away from breaking out."
Ardell and Jack Wilson '16 both shot 162 for the weekend, while Justin Miller '15 ended the tournament with a scorecard of 170.
The Bears will finish their fall campaign this weekend with the Oct. 20-21 Ivy Match Play Championship at Jasna Polana Golf Club in Princeton, NJ. The tournament will differ from Bruno's other tournaments in that the team will play the other participating teams in head-to-head matches, as opposed to competing against the entire field via stroke play.
"I feel a little more confident about match play," Hughes said. "We keep playing 14-15 holes well and a few poorly, which in match play can mean a win."
Their finish in the Big 5 gave the Bears some perspective on their current position in the Ivy League rankings and helped indicate which teams are poised to make a strong showing in the upcoming match play.
"As long as I've been here, that's the best we've done relative to other teams," Ardell said. "(The Big 5 results) gave us a barometer as to which the best Ivy League teams are and what they're doing."
He added that the Bears have been consistently among the tournament leaders in pars made this season, but that strength may lose importance in stroke play.
"With match play, it's one hole at a time. You may have had a bad hole, but it's one hole," he said. "If we can beat these teams head-to-head in match play, it will only give us more confidence."
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