Saturday, April 12
Princeton, N.J. / Springdale Golf Club
All Day
Columbia University
at
Princeton Invitational
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.
Lester Earns Runner-Up at Princeton Invitational
4/13/2025 10:11:00 PM | Men's Golf
Lions earn Top 5 in 14-team field
PRINCETON, N.J. — First-year Grant Lester shot a final-round 3-under-par 68 to earn a tie for second at the Princeton Invitational. The two-day, 36-hole event was contested Saturday and Sunday at Springdale Golf Club.
The tournament, originally scheduled for 54 holes, was shortened to two rounds. Inclement weather on Saturday turned what was planned to be a 36-hole day into just 18.
Following a 1-over 72 on Saturday, Lester entered Sunday tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard. He teed off at the 10th on Sunday and traded three birdies and three bogeys for an even-par 36 at the turn. The rookie from Washington, D.C. caught fire on the final nine, posting birdies at the second, fourth and sixth to get to 3-under. He gave two shots back with a double-bogey at the 180-yard, par-3 seventh, but finished with back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth.
Lester has now finished top 10 in six of his nine tournaments, including three top-fives and two runners-up. The final-round 68 marked the ninth sub-par round of his first-year season.
Columbia (+15) finished fifth on the 14-team leaderboard. Just five shots separated second through sixth place. Columbia was one shot better than Georgetown (+16), one shot behind Yale (+14), another behind Seton Hall (+13) and just four shots off second-place Rutgers (+11). Princeton (-2) won at its home course.
In addition to Lester's runner-up, senior Wyatt McGovern (+5) and junior Darren Pang (+6) earned top-25s in the 75-player field.
The Lions host the Roar-EE Invitational on Saturday at Wiltwyck Golf Club in Kingston, New York.
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia men's golf, follow @CULionsMGolf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
The tournament, originally scheduled for 54 holes, was shortened to two rounds. Inclement weather on Saturday turned what was planned to be a 36-hole day into just 18.
Following a 1-over 72 on Saturday, Lester entered Sunday tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard. He teed off at the 10th on Sunday and traded three birdies and three bogeys for an even-par 36 at the turn. The rookie from Washington, D.C. caught fire on the final nine, posting birdies at the second, fourth and sixth to get to 3-under. He gave two shots back with a double-bogey at the 180-yard, par-3 seventh, but finished with back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth.
Lester has now finished top 10 in six of his nine tournaments, including three top-fives and two runners-up. The final-round 68 marked the ninth sub-par round of his first-year season.
Columbia (+15) finished fifth on the 14-team leaderboard. Just five shots separated second through sixth place. Columbia was one shot better than Georgetown (+16), one shot behind Yale (+14), another behind Seton Hall (+13) and just four shots off second-place Rutgers (+11). Princeton (-2) won at its home course.
In addition to Lester's runner-up, senior Wyatt McGovern (+5) and junior Darren Pang (+6) earned top-25s in the 75-player field.
The Lions host the Roar-EE Invitational on Saturday at Wiltwyck Golf Club in Kingston, New York.
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia men's golf, follow @CULionsMGolf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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