The Oberlin varsity golf team kicked off their first tournament of the season at the Kenyon Cup Spring Invitational last Sunday. Due to poor weather, the event was cancelled on Saturday, cutting the 18-hole competitions to only one round.

Walsh University won the tournament with a total of 311 strokes, while the Yeomen totaled 363 strokes and placed 11th out of 12 teams.

“We were shaking a lot of rust off because we hadn’t played yet and were a little rusty,” said Head Coach Blake New. “We were doing really well until the last four or five holes, and that’s when we blew off,” he said. New noted that the “forty-degree weather and 40 mile per hour winds” did not help the situation. College senior Tom King led the team in their season debut with a final score of 86. “Tom King is a very smart player,” said New. “He ended up posting a half-decent score, considering the conditions.”

Senior Michael Tilden from the College of Wooster posted the best score in the tournament at 77 strokes, earning him individual honors at the Kenyon Cup for the second year in a row.

Overall, New is optimistic about this year’s team. “In the past, the first and second players have done really well, but we haven’t been able to get a good fourth score.”

This year, with eight players on the team, things are looking up for the Yeomen, who will be graduating three seniors this year: King, Prithvi Reddy and Brian Huffman.

“We’ve got a good chance at getting a good fourth score this season, and that will keep us [competitive] in matches,” said New. “The goal is playing our best at the end of the season.”

The next tournament for the Oberlin golf team is the Hiram Invitational on Saturday, April 9 at Hiram. “We’ll be better this week,” said New.