After two days and 36 holes of play, Tufts golf tied a strong Trinity team at 621 strokes apiece at the Trinity College annual Bill Detrick Invitational tournament this past weekend. Due to this team tie, it came down to a fifth-player tiebreaker in which the Trinity Bantams won 79–80, placing the Jumbos second on the weekend. This was the first tournament of the spring golf season and following a strong fall showing from the Jumbos, they have their sights on being a top contender for the NESCAC Championships this year.
“The fall is a time we get to play a few tournaments and stuff, but we’re really just gearing up for NESCACs and finding the right lineup that we want to play in the spring consistently,” senior co-captain Adam Schwimmer said. “Overall, I think that the transition from fall to spring is a little bit hard just because of the weather situation, but we just focus on eliminating mental mistakes on the course, minimizing high numbers and then just working on the short game in the fall and then into the spring.”
On Saturday, the four best scores for Tufts totaled 315 strokes, and on Sunday, each of these top players shot in the 70s, shooting 306 as a team for a tournament total of 621. At the end of Saturday, Trinity led out of the 10 teams, with Tufts trailing behind by two strokes. Junior Ben Blase led the Jumbos on Saturday, shooting a 3-over par shooting a 75. Schwimmer, sophomore Jack Meehan, and senior co-captain Travis Clauson rounded out the Jumbos top four, shooting 79, 80 and 81, respectively.
“Our program has come a long way in the last few years, so going into these events, we’re looking to contend,” Schwimmer said. “Our goal was to win, and we came up one shot short. We made good strides … some guys got some good reps in, and we didn't play our best, but we definitely improved mentally, because we played in really tough weather conditions. … It was in the low 40s, we battled some rain and wind … so, it was a good gear up for the spring just in terms of the mental test.”
Meehan led the Jumbos on Sunday with a 73, the lowest score in the tournament. Meehan finished the weekend 80–73–153, good for fourth individually overall out of 58 total players in the tournament. Blase tied for second individually after shooting a 77 on Sunday and totaling 152 on the weekend. The lower scores on the second day of play reflect the adjustments the Jumbos were able to make after seeing the course for the first time on Saturday.
“With this kind of tournament, we didn’t play a practice round, so when you get there, you’re essentially playing the golf course for the first time,” Schwimmer said. “When you play the second day, you pick up on things you could have done differently the first day, and you make those adjustments the second day, whether it’s hitting certain clubs off the tee, leaving the ball in a certain spot on a green or just missing in the right place. It’s just important to think back on what you did in the first round and use that as a road map of what to do differently in the second round.”
Schwimmer shot a 77 to place 10th with a 156 score, and Clauson rounded out the Jumbos’ top four scorers with a 79 on Sunday and 160 on the weekend, ultimately tying for 17th overall. As the fifth scorer for the Jumbos, junior Kemp Bassett became the tiebreaker and shot an 80, totalling 164 on the weekend. Malcolm Herbert also competed for the Jumbos, placing 36th overall with a 83–86–169. This season, Tufts has a new simulator and putting green in the gym on campus, making skill practice more easily accessible for the team.
In terms of things to improve on moving forward and what the team is looking forward to this season, Schwimmer said, “with the whole team, making a few more putts, putting in the time in our new facility and trusting our game. We’re a good team, and we just have to have the confidence that we can win … because we’re definitely one of the top teams in the NESCAC.”
The Jumbos will compete at the Tim Brown Invitational hosted by Skidmore at Ballston Spa Country Club in Ballston Spa, N.Y. this weekend.
