For its final showing of the regular season, the men’s golf team traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to compete in the Navy Spring Invitational. The team made an exciting push in the final 18 holes on Sunday to finish in third place and tie its best finish of the season.
Saturday was a good start for the Johnnies as they shot 10 over par and they ended the day in fourth place. Navy and Methodist were tied for first going into the second day of competition as both were one over par and St. John’s was right behind Wagner College who was seated at third place only two strokes ahead of the Red Storm.
Freshman Troy Evans began the tournament with a 72. His one over par showing meant he would go into Sunday tied for tenth place. Evans’ fellow freshman Michael Conforti was only one stroke behind and was tied for 15 th place. Close behind them were junior Sean Byrne who carded a 74 and freshman Seung Yub Baek who carded a 75. These two were tied for 19 th place and 24 th place, respectively.
At 8:30 the following morning, the Red Storm was determined to keep the momentum going and that was just what it did. Evans performed well on his second round, finishing one under par. Combined with Saturday’s card, he ended the weekend with an even par which allowed him to jump from his tenth place spot to third place overall.
This medal finish was his best finish yet. Conforti scored an even par and kept his overall score at two ever par. His 144 for the weekend took him from 15 th place to seventh place. Baek climbed 11 spots and ended up tying for 13 th place after he improved by four strokes bringing him to a four over par finish which is a 146 overall.
After a better performance in Sunday’s final round, St. John’s was able to passs Wagner College and beat them by ten strokes. Navy was able to come out on top of the leaderboard after being tied with Methodist University on Saturday evening. The hosts won by eight strokes recording an overall score of 570 which was two over par.
Other competitors in the invitational were Colgate University, Bucknell University, St. Francis, Emory, Navy’s B-team and Lafayette College.
Now it is time for St. John’s to head to the Big East Championships which starts next week in South Carolina. This post-season will be in South Carolina at the Callawassee Island Gold Club.
