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The Dartmouth
July 26, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Golf team struggles in weekend tourney

Even a perfect recipe will not come out right if you add too much water. Unfortunately, the Dartmouth men's golf squad learned this lesson the hard way at last weekend's wet Dartmouth Invitational.

Weather conditions were less than desirable, and with the exception of a respectable second place finish by co-Captain MacKenzie Hurd '98, so was the team's performance.

The men finished in the middle of the pack -- eighth overall, out of a field of 16. The strong University of Connecticut squad emerged victorious this weekend with a two day score of 577, while Effren Garcia-Estrada of the University of Rhode Island took the individual title with a 71 and a two strokes under par 67.

Though the tournament itself ran smoothly, Coach Bill Johnson expected more from his squad.

"I'm disappointed with the play here, which was not indicative of the ability displayed on other courses," Johnson said.

The ability Johnson refers to was evident this past week when the squad placed third [out of 21] and earned a birth in the ECAC Eastern Finals, which is to be played next weekend.

Rain on both Friday and Saturday left the Hanover Country Club soft and unpredictable. Johnson, along with Hurd, cited the fact that the course played like an "away course" due to adverse weather conditions, thus, negating any home team advantage.

Hurd would finish only one stroke off Garcia-Estrada's pace with a stunning 70-69.

Missed birdie opportunities in the final round and weather-induced "difficult club selection" prevented Hurd from taking the tournament all together.

Hurd looks to defend his ECAC title this weekend at the beautiful Yonandassis Country Club, just outside of Utica, New York. Yet, he maintains that he is more excited than nervous.

"I just hope to put in a good score," Hurd said. "And if things go right, possibly defend."

Behind Hurd, freshman Jon Heaton also had a relatively good weekend in the Invitational. Though his first round score of 77 was satisfactory, Heaton dug even deeper to give the team a well needed 72 on Sunday. Thus, he continues to prove his position as a reliable rookie.

As a member of the team's reserve roster, ex-football player Jerry Singleton '96 made a name for himself with an impressive 74-76.

Jay Danzi '98, shot a somewhat disappointing 76-76 on the weekend and was upset with his putting. Danzi hopes that his scores will only be lower for this coming weekend. Jay Lavender '97 looks to improve on his 77-82 performance as well.

"I don't like coming up with excuses," Co-Captain Steve Sugarman said. "We played poorly and it showed."

Sugarman himself posted a personally unsatisfactory 75-76.

But Sugarman is more optimistic heading into this weekend's ECAC tournament.

"We do better on long courses," he said. "We're all solid ball strikers."

The Big Green look to gain a little more consistency and hope this weekend will be the time for it to happen.

"One of these tournaments, the five of us are going to click. and we'll take the darn thing," Sugarman said. "But waiting for the click is very hard."