While many students spent the weekend celebrating Tufts’ homecoming football victory, the Tufts men’s golf team went to work at the Bowdoin College Invitational. The tournament was played at the Brunswick Golf Club, a long and challenging par 72 course. Tufts faced a diverse range of schools with various NESCAC schools sprinkled into the mix.
Tensions were high coming into the tournament. The team was coming off a strong performance at the Williams College Invitational and looked to keep the momentum going.
On the first day, sophomore Reed Bodley led the team, scoring just one over par. It was his first time seeing this course, but the young Jumbo was unfazed as he finished tied for 10th in individual scoring.
“It felt great to shoot 73,” Bodley wrote in a message to the Daily. “Going out there and playing with confidence was a big accomplishment and hopefully will carry on to future tournaments.”
That confidence was shared by the rest of the Jumbos that day. As a team, Tufts averaged three and half strokes over par, landing Tufts a ninth place finish at the conclusion of the first round of play. Still, after this impressive performance, the team felt there was room for improvement.
“As a team we felt like we lost a couple of shots on the first day to small course management errors,” Bodley wrote. The pressure was on for the tournament’s second day.
Sophomore Holden Kittelberger flipped a switch on day two, leading the team at par for the round. He finished strong, hitting an impressive birdie on the 17th hole as the day came to a close. Senior Jack Meehan shaved off a couple of shots from his first round, finishing at +2 for Sunday. Also impressively, senior Conor O’Holleran shattered his first-round score, improving by five shots.
Overall the team drastically improved, hitting a colossal nine total birdies and averaging just two above par for scoring players in the second round. This propelled Tufts up the rankings to the top third of teams, tied for a seventh-place finish.
The team has performed strongly this past week, placing sixth in the Williams College Invitational and seventh at the Bowdoin College Invitational. The team will look to carry this momentum through the remainder of the season. Their next challenge will be at the Skidmore College Invitational coming up on Oct. 7.
