The golf team won the Colby Invitational Sunday and finished third at the Colby Classic, held the day before.
On Saturday, the team faced off in the Colby Classic which featured a complicated format that changed every six holes. The teams played a best ball format, an alternate shot format, and a scramble format.
This is not the traditional sort of golf normally seen on the PGA Tour. It is more the kind of play found at a country club or local golf course. The person who shoots the lowest score may not actually win, because in the scramble and alternate formats, players are required to hit each other's shots in most situations.
The team divided itself into pairs and three duos competed for Tufts in this event. Sophomore Josh Bloomberg and junior Paul Chase scored the lowest of the three tandems with a 72. Freshman Dave Hunt and junior Seb Gonzalez were second with a 76, and sophomore Justin Meier and junior Dan Weinbeck rounded out the team with a 79.
The Jumbos came into the clubhouse with a 227 for the day, only four shots off of second place Bowdoin's 223. Southern Maine won the tournament by shooting a 213. The Huskies also led the pairs scoring with a low of 69, shot by George Shabo and Joe Hamilton. Following the Jumbos in the final standings were Bates (235), Colby (237), and the University of New England (238).
On Sunday, the Jumbos won the Colby Invitational. Saturday's scores were washed away, and the team started from scratch en route to the victory. The Invitational had its own format, different from Saturday's tournament, and the outcome was much more pleasing for the Jumbos.
The team finished first and had the low score of the tournament. Instead of playing in three pairs, the team played in two threesomes in a scramble. Usually this format results in much lower scores than in traditional golf, and this proved to be the case on Sunday.
"It was a lot of fun to get the low score at a tournament," Hunt said. "That really makes any day worthwhile."
Meier, Gonzalez, and Hunt finished with a tournament low of 60. Bloomberg, Chase, and Dan Weinbeck were not far behind with a 62. The two groups gave the Jumbos a combined score of 122, which was six shots ahead of Colby (128), followed by Bates (130), and the University of New England (131).
"We did a great job, and it was a good way to get some practice before the New England Championships," Hunt said of the tournament that will happen this weekend over three days on Cape Cod.
The freshman believes his squad will do big things in its next event.
"We are going to light it up," Hunt said. "They won't know what him them."
