OLD BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Nathan Han looked every bit like the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year. The junior opened his 2022-23 campaign by carding back-to-back rounds of 4-under-par 66 to lead the Columbia men's golf team through the opening 36 holes of The Doc Gimmler Invitational Saturday at Bethpage Red.
After bogeying three of his first seven holes, Han birdied six of his final 11 to complete his opening round. He carried that momentum into round two, making the turn at 2-under 33 before birdieing the par-4 14th and 585-yard, par-5 16th to turn in his second 66 of the day. The Somers, New York native is in solo fourth in the 86-man field and is two shots off the lead entering Sunday's final round.
"Nathan is always incredibly steady and offensive with his game. He makes great decisions on the course and gives himself a chance to make as many birdies as possible," Director of Golf Rich Mueller said. "I think he said he hit 31 greens today, which is just incredible. His ball striking was really good all day, tee to green. I saw him make a couple of birdies and they were all within five feet of the hole."
The Lions are in sixth place as a team with Alvin Kwak (67) and Pat Healy (69) also carding opening rounds under par. Kwak had three birdies at the turn and hit a 15-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 16th to highlight his 3-under round. The junior is tied for 39th following a 5-over 75 in his second round, while Healy is tied for 27th at even-par 140.
"We left a little bit out there," Mueller went on to say. "The course was very gettable in the morning and I think we were hoping for a little bit better of an outcome, but this was still a solid performance. It's our first event and it might feel a little different playing as a defending champion. We're looking forward to going out and putting up a great round tomorrow to continue to build our confidence."
Additionally, three Lions competed as individuals out at Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Connecticut at the Ryan T. Lee Collegiate Memorial. The trio was led by sophomore
Wyatt McGovern, who carded a 3-under-par 68 and is tied for eighth in the 90-player field.
"It clearly shows how deep we are - this is our first tournament out and we had five rounds under par," Mueller added. "This shows a tremendous amount of depth and how competitive our entire team can be."
The final rounds for both tournaments are scheduled for Sunday. The five competing at The Doc Gimmler will tee off in consecutive groups beginning at 10:03 a.m. Live tracking will be available for The Doc Gimmler courtesy of
Golfstat.
--
For the latest on the Columbia men's golf program, follow @CULionsMGolf on
Instagram,
Twitter and
Facebook, or on the web at
GoColumbiaLions.com.
