With a combined score of 603, the golf team ended its tournament in Annapolis, Md., 35 shots over par. The Owls return to the course Sept. 18 and 19.
The golf team opened the season in a somewhat disappointing fashion this past weekend in Annapolis, Md., at the Navy Fall Classic. Last year, the Owls finished the season in fourth place in the Atlantic Ten Conference, their best finish in seven years. Returning were all-conference golfers senior Eric Plisko and junior Andrew Mason, and expectations for the team were high, but the team got off to a rocky start.
The Owls finished 11th out of 17 teams. Their combined score of 603 was 35 over par. Northwestern won the Classic by collectively shooting a 552, or 16 under par.
“I am a little disappointed,” coach Brian Quinn said after his team lost by 51 strokes. “I expected us to be in the top 3.”
Instead, the Owls finished 29 shots behind third-place Seton Hall.
Of the 27 rounds under par at the tournament, not one came from anyone wearing a Temple golf shirt.
But if there was a bright spot for the Owls, it came in the form of Plisko. Plisko shot two rounds of 74 each and finished six shots over par, which was good enough for a tie for 30th place out of a field of 91 golfers in the event.
Andrew Mason was the next best on the team with a score of 150, which tied him for 44th place. Behind Mason was freshman David Bibeau, who shot a combined 151 and finished in 51st place. Junior Joseph Kim finished in 65th place by shooting 154, and freshman Alex McPherson shot 170 to finish in 87th place.
“The team is working really hard,” Quinn said. “It just didn’t come together this weekend.”
Northwestern’s Sam Chein was the individual winner with a score of 135, including a 64 on the final day of the tournament. That 64 was the lowest single-round score of the Classic. The top individual round for the Owls came from Plisko and Mason, who each had scores of 74. Villanova’s Brendan Kelly hit two rounds of 69 to claim not only the highest individual performance from a Big 5 player but also a third-place tie with Navy’s Ben Hayes.
The Owls return to the course on Sept. 18 and 19 in the McLaughlin Invitational in Farmingdale, N.Y. After that, they travel to Newport, R.I., for the Adams Cup of Newport on Sept. 21 and 22.
Last season, the Owls opened the season with a seventh-place finish in the Rutgers Tournament and went on to finish second at the tournament in Farmingdale.
Ryan Rosengrant can be reached at ryan.rosengrant@temple.edu.
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