Men’s golf wins Ivy League Championship for third consecutive year

They’ve done it again. Successfully defending their title as Ivy champs, the men came out on top of the Ancient Eight with a final score of 890, three strokes better than second-place Yale. Helping the men’s team to the top of the league for three consecutive conference victories, junior Clark Granum maintained his history of success, earning all-Ivy first team honors for the third consecutive season. As the league champions, the Lions earn the Ivy League’s berth to the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship, which is slated to begin regional play May 20-22.

With every stroke of the three-day, 54-hole tournament, the men’s team fought for victory. Struggling to get the ball rolling, the Lions failed to deliver after the first round, as they played the lower course at par 70 and had difficulty making shots. But with a two-year title to defend, the Lions’ pride was at stake. As the second round began, the men pulled themselves out of the hole and rallied back to finish the round at 596 through 36-holes with a two-stroke advantage over Penn. With a lead going into the final round, the Lions weathered the Bulldogs’ advances. At the end of the day, Columbia emerged victorious.

Individually, four Lions made it to the charts. Granum stole the spotlight in all three rounds, ultimately tying with Penn’s Scotty Williams for first place with a score of 214. The tie was settled by a nail-biting playoff, in which Granum fell, handing Williams the No.1 spot overall. But the Lions’ triumph was salvaged, as two Lions tied at seventh place, with sophomore Brendan Doyle and freshman Michael Yiu finishing with scores of 228. Junior Justin Lee shot a final-round 78 and tied for 16th, while freshman Ford Fischer ended the tournament at 23rd.

In an equally heated tournament, the women’s team closed out its season on a lower note, finishing out the season in sixth place in Ivy competition, just two points behind fifth-place Brown. Off to an incredible start, the Light Blue’s Lynda Kwon finished second overall in the first round, after firing an opening-round 74, to give the Lions third place after the first day. However, the women were unable to continue their momentum, dropping from third place in the first round to sixth in the second round, and then remaining there to end the championship.

This weekend’s Ivy competition brings the women’s season to a close. The men, however, still have work to do, as they advance to the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship set to take place May 20-22.