Oct. 18, 2009

Complete Results

• 2009 Lincoln Mercury Intercollegiate Results

BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- After giving way to inclement weather on Saturday, the nine-team Lincoln Mercury Intercollegiate field played nearly two full rounds of golf on Sunday where the Navy Midshipmen placed sixth with a 54-over par 630.

The schedule 54-hole tournament played at Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, N.J. was cut to 36 holes after a nor'easter played havoc in the area and forced the golfers off the links just an hour-and-a-half into the tournament on Saturday morning. The nine teams were able to get nearly five holes in on Saturday before play was suspended and picked up on Sunday morning.

Delaware took the team title with a 24-over par 600, as the Blue Hens rallied in the final round to score the tournament's low round of 294 (+6) and jump from fourth to first. Delaware just edged out Boston College, who held the team lead after round one with a 13-over par 301, and ended with a 27-over par 603. Binghamton fell in at third with a 32-over par 608, followed by Seton Hall in fourth (609, +33) and George Washington in fifth (61, +35).

Medalist honors when to Delaware's Justin Martinson who was the lone golfer to finish the tournament under par. After opening the tournament 2-over, he produced a 3-under par 69 in the final round to make the move from fourth to first with a 1-under par 143. Teammate Kevin McLister and Binghamton's Jake Katz tied for second, as the duo each carded a 1-over par 145.

The Midshipmen carded a 25-over par 313 to open the tournament and stood seventh with a second round to be played Sunday afternoon. Though the Mids turned in a 29-over par 317 over the next 18 holes, they were able to gain a position as LIU-Brooklyn had a disastrous second round and dropped from fifth into a tie for seventh with Fairleigh Dickinson.

"The conditions we played in this weekend were some of the most challenging I've seen," said 20th-year Navy head coach Pat Owen. The combination of 40-degree weather, rain and heavy winds made for a tough weekend. It's very possible we will see conditions similar to these next spring when we set out to play in the Patriot League Championship, so it was a valuable experience.

Junior Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) led the charge for the Midshipmen, turning in a pair of 76s to finish the tournament just out of the top 10, in 11th place with an 8-over par 152. Sophomores Peter Reilly (Merrimack, N.H.) and Tim Shield (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) proved to be solid contributors as Reilly improved three strokes in the final round to finish tied for 25th with a 13-over par 157. Shield, meanwhile, opened the tournament even with Hayes with a 4-over par 76, but fell off a bit over the final 18 where he was 10 and placed 28th (158, +14).

Collier Jones (Little Rock, Ark.) tied for 38th with a 19-over par 163 (81-82), while junior Josh Ziska (Camarillo, Calif.) rounded out the Navy squad with a 35-over par 179.

"Unless you have played in conditions like what we faced, it's hard to imagine much less prepare for. Having said that, there were stretches of great golf by our guys, including three straight birdies by Peter Reilly late in the day. The next for our team is to learn how to sustain that consistency over a 10-hour period of competition."

With the completion of the Lincoln Mercury Intercollegiate, Navy has concluded its fall campaign.