Golf: Tigers prepare for Ivies in spring tournaments

Junior Bernie D’Amato led the Tigers on Monday, finishing 10th overall out of 85 players by shooting 83 and 72 to finish at plus-13 for 36 holes. Sophomore Greg Jarmas shot an 82 in the morning and a 75 in the afternoon to finish tied for 11th in the tournament, while seniors Chase Woodsum (plus-17), Rob Owen (plus-21) and Evan Harmeling (plus-22) all finished in the top half of the contenders.

“Trump National is a really solid golf course, but the most difficult aspect ... was the weather — it was cold and very windy,” Jarmas said.

D’Amato echoed the same sentiments, claiming that the conditions were definitely the toughest part of Monday’s match, but that “it was good to play in the tough conditions because the more experience we have in the wind and cold, the better we will perform in the upcoming tournaments.”

In order to keep up its skills during the winter, the team practices indoors sometimes by hitting into nets, but the real off-season preparation comes from the spring break trip, in which Jarmas said he was “lucky enough to make it out to Scottsdale ... for some good practice in some really nice weather.”

The Tigers will host the Princeton Invitational on April 14-15 at Springdale Golf Club.

“We need to keep improving in order to have a strong showing,” Woodsum said, as the team looks ahead to the Ivy League Championships at the end of April.

The women’s team has already played in three competitions this spring, most recently finishing 11th out of 16 squads at the Low Country Intercollegiate played at Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head, S.C. It has one more tournament to play before heading to Seaview Golf Resort to try to capture the Ivy League Championship.

At the Low Country Intercollegiate, sophomore Kelly Shon tied for first overall of 73 players, shooting a 75 and 74 to close at plus-5. She is the first on the team to finish at the top of a tournament since 2009. Senior Wonji Choi also performed well, finishing tied for third at plus-8.

The women’s team has also ventured to warmer weather to get some practice for the spring season. “We went to warmer states such as Florida and South Carolina to compete, so that was exciting,” freshman Joyce Kim said.

Looking ahead, the team is focused on preparing for the Ivy League Championships.

“Yes, there’s definitely more pressure,” freshman Christine Kong said. “But we always try to keep things in perspective — all we can do is go out and play our best.”