April 26, 2008

Team Standings - Day One

Individual Leaders - Day One

2008 Patriot League Golf Championship Page

Bethlehem, Pa. - The first 36 holes of the Patriot League Golf Championship are in the books, and Navy has the lead after shooting a 618 on Saturday at the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club. The Mids have a seven-shot lead over second-place Bucknell (625) with 18 holes to go on Sunday.

Colgate is in third place after shooting a 635, followed by Army at 640, Lehigh and Holy Cross in a tie for fifth at 642 and Lafayette in seventh at 658. The team scores are the combined total of each squad's lowest four finishers for each round.

Colgate's Ricky Hayes has the individual lead after shooting a 147 on Saturday. Hayes put up a 76 in the morning, and then posted the only under-par round of the Championship with a 71 in the afternoon. Hayes has a one-shot advantage on Navy's Erich Schoen, who posted a 74 in each of his rounds for a 36-hole total of 148. Schoen's morning score was the top mark on the opening 18 holes.

Schoen had the top finish for a Navy team that placed four golfers in the top 15 of the individual leaderboard. David Miller is tied for third with a 153, with Ben Hayes tied for seventh at 156 and Ryan Wielgus tied for 13th at 161. The Mids got off to a good start by shooting a 311 for a six-shot advantage in the morning round, then posted a 307 in the afternoon. Navy is in search of its first Patriot League Golf Championship since 2003, when the event was also played at Saucon Valley.

Bucknell, which is going for its third consecutive title, closed its deficit to the Mids in the afternoon. After shooting a 322 in the morning, the Bison posted the best round on the second 18 holes with a 303. Rahul Desai and Andrew Cohen are tied for third place after shooting a 153 for the day, while Stuart Lindgren and Ben Mattingly are in 15th after recording a 162. Five of the six Bucknell golfers had a better score in the second round than the first, including Brian Bartow who shaved 13 shots off his morning round with a 76 in the afternoon.

Hayes put up two strong rounds to lead the Raiders. His 71 in the afternoon was two shots better than any other round in the Championship. David Ake also chipped in for the Raiders with a score of 156 to tie for seventh.

Army has three golfers in the top 15 after Saturday's action. Matt Krembel shot a 157 to place ninth, with Pat Beverly tied for 13th with a 161 and Matt Hanlon tied for 15th with a 162. Krembel had the second-best round in the morning with a 75.

Holy Cross and Lehigh are tied for fifth, and each have a pair of players in the top 15. Holy Cross' Matt Czarnecki, who won the Individual Championship in 2007, is tied for 10th along with teammate Ryan Kenny after shooting a 158. Lehigh's Will Robinson is in sixth place with a 155, while Steve Suarez is tied for 15th after a 162 for the Mountain Hawks. Lafayette's top score came from Tyler Ostrovsky, who is in 12th place after a 162.

The top 10 individual golfers heading into Sunday are:

1. Ricky Hayes, Colgate 76 71 147 +3

2. Erich Schoen, Navy 74 74 148 +4

3. Rahul Desai, Bucknell 79 74 153 +9

Andrew Cohen, Bucknell 80 73 153 +9

David Miller, Navy 78 75 153 +9

6. Will Robinson, Lehigh 78 77 155 +11

7. David Ake, Colgate 80 76 156 +12

Ben Hayes, Navy 78 78 156 +12

9. Matt Krembel, Army 75 82 157 +13

10. Matt Czarnecki, Holy Cross 78 80 158 +14

Ryan Kenny, Holy Cross 76 82 158 +14

The top 10 finishers at the end of the event receive All-Patriot League status, with the top five and ties on the first team.

The first trio of golfers will hit the tee for the final 18 holes at 8 a.m. on Sunday. The winning team receives an automatic bid to one of the three NCAA Regionals, held on the weekend of May 15-17.

For individual and team scores, Sunday tee times and more information, visit the Patriot League Golf Championship page.