SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Columbia men's golf team completed a solid opening weekend with a fourth-place finish at the Savannah Intercollegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event wrapped up on Sunday from The Club at Savannah Harbor.
The Lions were consistent with team rounds of 288 and 289 on Saturday, followed by a 1-under-par 287 on Sunday. They shot an even-par 864 and were 13 shots clear of the rest of the field. The battle for second was separated by just two shots between Harvard (-2), Longwood (-1) and Columbia. North Alabama (-16) ran away with the tournament thanks to a second-round 12-under 276 on Saturday.
Leading the way for Columbia was
Nathan Han. The senior from Somers, New York entered the day seven shots back of the lead and surged to a seventh-place finish at 4-under par. Han shot a final-round 2-under 70, birdieing his opening first, the par-five fourth and the par-4, 412-yard sixth to get as low as 5-under for the weekend. His tie for seventh marked Han's 21st career top-10 finish and his fifth in as many starts this academic year.
"Nathan was great and this was just another testament to how incredibly solid of a player he is when the conditions are really tough," Columbia's Director of Golf
Rich Mueller said. "Finishes are incredibly important.
"I'm really proud of how we played as a team. I think this gives us some stuff to work on but it was a great experience. It was just a great overall start to the spring season. Obviously, we've got a bit of a chip on our shoulder, but I think that's a good thing."
Columbia put four competitors in the top 20 of the 83-player field. Junior
Wyatt McGovern shot a final-round 72 to finish the tournament tied for 15th at 1-over.
Darren Pang and
DJ Francey tied for 20th at 2-over.
The Lions compete again in two weeks at the Cabo Collegiate (March 3-5), which takes place at Twin Dolphin Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
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