The Cardinal golf team welcomed five other schools to the Wesleyan Invitational held Wednesday. The Cards went into this event, held at their home course of Lyman Orchards, with high hopes. Unfortunately, the weather and the swings wouldn’t quite cooperate, and Wesleyan finished fifth, a mere eight strokes behind the victorious WPI.

"It was good competition from beginning to end. We were not out-classed, we just missed some key puts," explained head coach Dave Snyder.

The Invitational was a four-ball event, meanimg that each school entered three teams of two golfers, each of whom then played every hole. The difference between this format and a normal stroke-play competition is that only the better of the pair’s two scores counts; each two-man team turns in one score at the end of the round. The overall winner is the school whose three teams turn in the lowest combined score.

Wesleyan’s three teams were composed of co-captains Ben Grant ’00 and Sean O’Brien ’00 who finished with a strong 79, Zach Antonucci ’02 and John Blanchard ’03 who scored 81, and Ashwin Chadha ’02 and Adam Diamond ’03 who totaled 85. The overall score for the Cards was a solid 245, only one stroke behind Salve Regina and Trinity who tied for third, and four behind RPI in second.

"John and I talked about it after the round and there were some places where I made some mistakes, and he made some too," said Antonucci, disappointed with his play.

Though WPI’s golfers managed to separate themselves from the field by the end of the day, they did not run away with the competition. After the first six pairs finished their rounds, there was very little difference in scores. As more groups came in, the only real distinction to be found was Rhode Island College fading from the pack.

"Coming down the stretch we had no idea how close it was and how well the other teams had played," Diamond said.

In the end, the difference was WPI’s consistent play. Each of the three WPI pairs turned in a solid round, lifting them above the crowd.

This was the first event in a brief spring season for Cardinal golf. If the weather complies, the squad will head to tournaments in each of the next three weeks. The Cards looks to improve on their performance at home and collect some strong finishes before the season is out.