April 24, 2010

• 2010 Patriot League Golf Championship - Rd 1&2 Results

HAMILTON, N.Y. -- The Navy golf team overcame a slow start to position itself in third place after the first two rounds of the Patriot League Championship played Saturday at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. The Mids put together rounds of 310 and 299 to trail tournament leader Lafayette (303-295) by 11 strokes and second-place Lehigh (307-300) by just two.

"The team played hard throughout the day, but unfortunately we experience a poor first nine holes of the tournament," said Navy head coach Pat Owen. "We regained our composure and did a good job over the last 27 holes and I feel optimistic about our chances tomorrow.

"It was an absolutely beautiful day here, just perfect weather. However, this is a championship course and it's challenging to manage. Tomorrow could be interesting as the weather forecast is for cold temperatures and rain."

Navy has two players in the top 10, including Peter Reilly (Merrimack, N.H.) who is tied for seventh with a 7-over par 151. Reilly struggled mightily early on as he was 7-over par after the first four holes. But Reilly settled down and after scoring a 6-over par 78 in the first round, he came back to shoot 1-over over the second 18.

Just a stroke behind Reilly is senior team captain Michael Harrigan (Moorestown, N.J.), who is tied for 10th after shooting a pair of 76's. Sophomore Tim Shield (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.)sits just outside of the top 10 with a 9-over par 153. Shield turned in an opening round 78 (+6), but shaved off three strokes from his score in the second round.

Junior Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.), who won medalist honors as last week's Navy Spring Invitational, stumbled out of the blocks, turning in a 7-over par 79 in the first round. But like his teammates, Hayes fought back to post a 3-over par 75 over the second 18 holes to finish 10-over and in 16th place with one round remaining.

Rounding out action for the Mids were sophomores Tyler Kuhn (Louisville, Ky.) in 24th (78-78 -- 156) and Andrew Haines (Kirtland, Ohio) in 36th (86-79 -- 165).

Action resumes Sunday morning at 8:00 am with the seven teams' sixth-place competitor teeing off from either the first or 10th hole.