April 10, 2016
Princeton, N.J. – Vincent Whaley and Jacob Joiner each fired subpar rounds Sunday, and Georgia Tech posted an even-par score of 284 to finish in a tie for third place at the weather-shortened Princeton Invitational.
TECH LINEUP – Sunday’s final round was played in more favorable conditions than Saturday, under sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 40s. The Yellow Jackets avoided any big numbers – double bogey or worse – for the second straight day on the 6,415-yard Springdale course, and carded only 10 bogeys. Their even-par score was the third-best of the day.
Whaley, a junior from McKinney, Texas, shot 3-under-par 68 with two birdies and an eagle on his card, and finished in a tie for ninth place individually at even-par 142. Joiner, a sophomore from Leesburg, Ga., shot 1-under-par 70 with four birdies, while junior Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.) added a 72 and sophomore James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) a 74. Junior Michael Hines (Acworth, Ga.) shot 76 and did not count for the Jackets.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Duke, the only other top-50 team in the field and ranked No. 20, opened a 12-stroke lead after the first round Saturday and never slowed down. The Blue Devils shot 15-under-par 269 Sunday to finish at 25-under-par 543, winning by 34 strokes over second-place Harvard (577, +9).
Tech, defending champion Yale and host Princeton tied for third at 10-over-par 578, with Columbia (679, +11) and Rutgers (580, +12) close behind in the 15-team field.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Duke had the top three individuals, with Alex Smalley firing a 5-under-par 66 Sunday to grab medalist honors by one shot at 8-under-par 134. Max Greyserman and opening-round leader Jake Shuman tied for second place at 7-under-par 135. Yales Li Wang (138, -4) was third, followed by Harvard’s Rohan Ramnath (139, -3) and Princeton’s Marc Hedrick (140, -2). Sam Madsen of Georgetown and Harrison Shih of Columbia tied for seventh (141, -2).
Whaley tied for ninth with two others at 142 (E), while Joiner and Petefish were in a group of four tied for 12th at 143 (+1).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The 30th annual Princeton Invitational was shortened from 54 to 36 holes due to weather, and the teams played 18 holes each Saturday and Sunday at Springdale Golf Club, which plays to a par of 71 but measures just 6,415 yards.
Along with fellow Ivy League members Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Penn and Yale, Princeton hosted a pair of teams ranked in the top 50 in the current Golfstat rankings, No. 20 Duke and No. 42 Georgia Tech, plus regional foes from Georgetown, Rider, Rutgers, Saint Joseph’s, Seton Hall and Temple.
NEXT – Georgia Tech will defend its title at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, April 22-24 at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C.
