Golf Breezes Through Colgate Invitational

This past weekend, on September 11 and 12, the Colgate men’s golf team took to their home course to compete in the Colgate Invitational. The team started the season with a bang, taking home first place in both the team and individual portions of the tournament.

As a team, Colgate shot a 30-over-par 606, finishing four strokes ahead of second-place Laval University. Fordham University placed third, finishing with a total score of 615.

On the individual level, Colgate sophomore Will Delano finished in first place after a thrilling face off against Daemon College’s Kyle Kapturowski. Delano came out strong on Saturday, shooting a four-under 68, but regressed slightly on a rainy Sunday with a three-over 75.

“The conditions made playing much more difficult, but it was fortunate since we had a big lead after the first day, it made it difficult for other teams to shoot low scores and catch us,” Delano said, looking on the bright side of the bad weather.

Kapturowski was slightly more consistent, shooting an even par on Sunday to force a playoff with Delano. Kapturowski slipped a bit on the first playoff hole with a bogey, allowing Delano to capitalize with a two-putt for par on the hole for the victory.

Bucknell’s William Bachman finished four shots behind Delano and Kapturowski after 36 holes, making the charge to fourthplace with a six-under-par final round.Bachman’s 66 was the best round of any player during the two-day tourney.

Colgate’s team captain, junior Ben Jessen, shot an eight-over 152, which was good enough to tie for seventh place. As was the case for Delano, Jessen’s second round did not live up to his first, following his first-round 74 with a final-round 78.

Fellow junior Josh Spellman finished tied for 15th place, but was on pace for a much better finish. Spellman shot a first-round 70, putting him in second place headed into Sunday’s round. Spellman followed his fantastic first round with a final round of 86, knocking him down several pegs on the leader board.

Delano stressed the importance of the momentum gained by Colgate’s victory this weekend by saying, “Winning this past weekend helps prove to ourselves that we can win tournaments and beat top Patriot League teams like Bucknell.”

Colgate will travel to Bucknell next weekend for the Bucknell Invitational. The Bisons tied for fourth at the Colgate Invitational, and figure to present a significant obstacle for the Raiders next weekend.