Navy Golf Closes Out Fall with Fourth-Place Finish

Oct. 17, 2010

â€¢ 2010 The Classic at Shelter Harbor - Final Results

WESTERLY, R.I. - Turning in the second-lowest round of the day, the Navy golf team carded an 11-over par 295 in the final round to place fourth at the inaugural The Classic at Shelter Harbor Sunday in Westerly, R.I. The Mids opened the day in sixth place and were able to push past both Rhode Island and Hartford to close out the fall campaign with a top-five finish.

"I'm thrilled we were able to end the fall season on a positive note," said Navy head coach Pat Owen. "This gives us added incentive to continue to work hard throughout the off-season and build momentum heading into the spring season. Our players have already started talking about the spring and what they need to work on to prepare us for the conference tournament."

Columbia (299-289=588) claimed the team title by nine strokes over Harvard (300-297=597) after posting the low round on Sunday, a 5-over par 289. Columbia held just a one-stroke advantage over the Crimson after the opening round, but was able to seal the win with spectacular player throughout its lineup. Harvard, meanwhile, just edge Penn who placed third with a 598 (302-296). The Mids fell in at fourth with a 601 (306-295), while Dartmouth (308-295=603) and Hartford (302-301=603) tied for fifth two strokes behind Navy.

Hartford's Matt Smith won medalist honors via a playoff with Dartmouth's James Pleat. The pair each scored a 1-over par 143 for the tournament with Pleat forcing a playoff after posting a 1-under par in Sunday's final round.

Navy senior captain Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) nearly pushed the playoff to three players after carding not only the low round of the day (along with Yale's Tom McCarthy), but it was also the low round of the two-day tournament. He jumped up from 16th to third with a 2-over par 144 to finish as Navy's top placewinner.

"I was really happy for Ben and how he finished up this tournament," added Owen. "He really played hard and well down the stretch and nearly won the tournament."

Junior Tim Shield (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) fell out of the top 10 and into 19th with a two-round 150 (+8). Shield was 3-over after the first round, but Sunday's final round saw him post a 5-over par 76.

Fellow junior Peter Reilly (Merrimack, N.H.), however, improved his position by nearly 25 spots after scoring a 1-over par 72 over the final 18 holes. Reilly came into the final round in 50th place, but wound up 27th by finishing the tournament 9-over (151).

Senior Rob Merkert (Severna Park, Md.) placed 53rd with a 14-over par 156 (78-78), while rookie David Hall (Huntersville, N.C.) finished 77th with a 25-over par 167.

"I think as a whole we were able to settle in today and play much better," said Owen. "Yesterday the winds were gusting at probably 30 miles per hour. While it was still windy today, it was much calmer and turned out to be a beautiful day.

"The course was extremely difficult, very similar in fact to a pro course. But I thought we really played well throughout the weekend and against some of the best teams in the Northeast. It was a great way for us to wrap up the fall season.

### Go Navy ###