FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The Navy men's golf team opened the 2021-22 campaign over the weekend, placing sixth amongst 14 schools at The Doc Gimmler. The Mids covered the par 70 Red Course at Bethpage State Park with a 54-hole, 16-over par 856 (296-282-278), improving upon their score in each of the three rounds.
Team captain
Chad Deegan (Sr / Newport Beach, Calif.) led the Mids and was just a stroke off individual medalist Peter Weaver's 4-under par 206. Deegan opened the tournament by shooting 1-under, but closed out Saturday's 36 holes even. The veteran shot the low round of the competition for Navy with his 3-under par 67 in Sunday's final round to place second.
Nicholas Klock (Sr / Moraga, Calif.) tied for 27th at 6-over (77-69-70=216), followed by
Andrew Wilkinson (Fr / Ashland, Va.) finished 31st in his first-collegiate appearance with a 7-over par 217 (77-71-69). Returning All-Patriot League standout
Keegan Shreves (Jr / Potomac, Md.) was a stroke behind Wilkinson in 35th at 218 (75-71-72), while freshman
Benjamin Valdez (Fr / Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) placed 52nd in his debut with a 222 (75-74-73).
"While we got off to a slightly slow start in Saturday's first round, we improved a great deal in rounds two and three," said 32nd-year Navy head coach
Pat Owen. "Both Chad (Deegan) and Nick (Klock) showed tremendous senior leadership throughout the two-day tournament, especially with having two freshmen in the lineup and seeing their first collegiate action. We saw steady improvement over the course of the three rounds individually and as a team and myself and Coach Burke are confident our team will continue to improve as we tighten up some areas in our game. Overall, it was a solid start to our season."
Navy Extras
•
Chad Deegan was one of 10 players in the competition to eagle, hitting his hole in one on the fourth hole of Sunday's final round.
•
Andrew Wilkinson and
Keegan Shreves paved the way for the Mids in birdies with 9 apiece.
•
Braxton Tracy (Jr / Huntersville, N.C.) competed as an individual in the tournament, tying for 52nd with his 222 (77-74-71).
• One of five Patriot League teams competing in The Doc Gimmler, Navy was the top finisher among the league as Lafayette placed eighth (862, +22), Lehigh tied for ninth (865, +25), Colgate tied for 11th (876, +36) and Holy Cross was 13th (877, +37).
• Navy opened the tournament in 10th with its opening-round 16-over par 296. The Mids pushed up to sixth by the end of 36 holes, shaving 14 strokes off their first-round score with a 2-over par 282 in the second round. They held their ground in the final round, yet again improving upon their previous round mark with a 2-under par 278.
Tournament Notes
• Columbia won the tournament title by a stroke over Harvard (281-285-280=846) with its 5-over par 845 (281-278-286)
• Villanova's Peter Weaver earned individual medalist honors with his 4-under par 206. After opening the tournament in third with a 2-under par 68, he followed up with rounds of 71 and 67 to edge Navy's
Chad Deegan by a stroke.
Navy returns home next Sunday when it will play host to St. John's in dual action at Match Play By the Bay.
### Go Navy ###
