The Columbia men’s golf team won its third straight Ivy League championship in dramatic fashion, beating Yale by three strokes on the weekend. The Lions were led by junior Clark Granum, who shot a three-under par 67 on the final round to give Columbia the win. With the victory, Columbia will take the Ivy League’s automatic bid into the 2010 NCAA Championships. The team will begin regional play on May 20.
Columbia started the year with the Spartan Classic in Michigan, finishing 11th out of the 13 teams that were at the event. Highlighting the individual play was Granum, who finished in 24th place, and shot the best score for Columbia that weekend.
The next weekend, the Lions got their first taste of Ivy play at the Cornell Invitational, where they finished sixth out of 15 teams. Once again, Granum led Columbia, finishing 13th. Columbia was playing well later in the weekend, but the event was shortened due to rain.
William & Mary’s Joe Agee Invitational brought even more success for Granum, as he finished in third place individually and led the team to another sixth-place finish.
Columbia finished its fall season with mixed results at the Ivy League Men’s Golf Match Play Event, although only two matches were played because of the weather conditions. Columbia beat Brown on the first day, but lost to Yale 3-2 on the second day. The match that would have decided third place between Harvard and Columbia was not played due to poor weather conditions.
The men’s golf team was off from competitive play until spring break, when it took part in its most competitive tournament of the season, the USF Triumph. Columbia once again scored a sixth-place finish out of the 12 teams there, and at one point reached as high as fifth in the standings. Granum once again led Columbia with a low score of four-over par on the final day, although this time fellow junior Justin Lee was the best individual for Columbia, placing 13th individually. The top nine-hole score belonged to sophomore Brendan Doyle, who shot a one-over par 36.
The team next traveled to the Towson/Fireline Invitational and finished in seventh place as a team, with Granum once again taking the individual lead. Granum shot a 225 over the three-day tournament, and placed 21st overall with that score.
The consistent pattern of play until then didn’t hold in the next tournament, the Princeton Invitational. Columbia finished 13th out of 15 teams. Freshman Michael Yiu led the Lions this time, finishing in 28th place with a score of 224. One stroke behind Yiu was Lee, who finished tied for 32nd place. Two strokes behind him was sophomore Brendan Doyle, who finished tied for 44th place. Yale and Harvard tied for the title in that tournament, with Yale ultimately winning because the fifth player had a lower score than the same player for Harvard.
Columbia got into form in its final tune-up before the Ivy League Championship, as it finished in third place out of 21 teams in the Navy Spring Invitational. Granum’s stellar season continued with his best-ever finish, finishing as the runner-up, one shot off Ben Hayes of Navy. Yiu and Doyle finished tied for 10th place, and each shot a 74 on the final day.
Columbia then played in the Ivy League Championship, and despite struggling on the first day, the team came back on the second day and took the lead for good, holding off Yale down the stretch at Baltusrol Golf Club. Columbia shot a 294 on the final day, and Doyle made par on the 18th hole to give Columbia the win. Granum would come in second place for the individual title, losing to Scotty Williams from Penn on the 19th hole.
For his tremendous season, Granum was named to the all-Ivy first team for the third straight season. In addition, Yiu and Doyle were both named to the all-Ivy second team.
Columbia will next be in action at the 2010 NCAA Championship on May 20.
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