Men's Golf battles past rainy conditions

Penn freshman Derek Rogers thought it might be a rocky transition to collegiate golf.

It turns out it was a bit easier than he expected.

Rogers carded a 3-over 73 in round one of the McLaughlin Invitational at Bethpage State Park over the weekend, helping the Quakers to an 11th-place finish.

Rogers was aided by senior co-captain Chad Perman, who continued his hot streak by carding an even 70 in the first round.

The Quakers had a two-round score of 597, three strokes off the top 10.

Senior Endel Liias posted a 73 (3-over par) and sophomore Jeff Riley carded a 74 (4-over) to lead the Quakers into the second round.

Rogers, an 18-year-old from Houston, Texas, carded scores of 72 (2-over par) in the final two rounds of the James Madison Invitational the previous weekend.

"Playing for Penn is intense and a lot more competitive than in high school," Rogers said. "I was in awe at first, but I just went out and tried to play well."

Rogers' instant success has been no surprise to his teammates.

"Derek's a solid player," Perman said. "And as he gets more comfortable, his scores will no doubt get even better."

Although Perman and Rogers are playing well, the Quakers are not competing as well as they had hoped.

"We are capable of doing better," Penn senior co-captain Peyton Wallace said. "If we all start playing well together, we can beat a lot of teams."

The tournament was supposed to have the traditional three-round 54 holes, but Hurricane Isidore curtailed the McLaughlin invite to 36.

The Quakers were a bit disappointed with the rain, as this marked their first return to Bethpage Country Club since winning the Ivy League Championship there in 1998.

Despite the weather conditions, the Red and Blue stormed back after a rain-shortened first round to finish in respectable fashion.

Ivy rival Princeton fared better than the Quakers, finishing second place overall, two strokes behind host St. John's.

So how will Penn improve to the level of its competition?

"Right now we're a bit behind Princeton," Perman said. "But it's still the fall, which is really just practice time for Ivy League teams.

"Over the next few months, we'll get our act together and put up a strong run against Princeton for the Ivy League title."

Penn will continue its quest this weekend at the ECAC Championships, and the Quakers are optimistic about a strong showing.

"The field is not as strong," Perman said. "I'm confident that we will have a good finish."

The ECAC Championships is Penn's last tournament before its home opener at the Big Five Invitational at the Philadelphia Cricket Club from Oct. 19-20.

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