Perman wins Big 5 Champs

It felt like a microcosm of the fall season for the Penn men's golf team this past weekend at the Big 5 Championships.

After a rough start on Saturday, at their last tournament of the fall season, the Quakers roared back on their home course -- the Philadelphia Cricket Club -- and tied Lehigh for first place, with senior co-captain Chad Perman taking first place outright in the individual competition.

Penn was ultimately denied the victory after losing the championship tiebreaker -- Lehigh's fifth golfer finished with a lower score than Penn's fifth.

"It was certainly long overdue," Penn coach Heath Davidson said. Chad's "played very well this season."

In front of a large crowd of friends and family in the northwest Philadelphia suburb of Flourtown, Perman carded a one-over-par 72 on Sunday and then beat Princeton freshman Jason Gerken in a three-hole, sudden-death playoff.

Being close to home "kept me more comfortable," said Perman, who was quick to praise Gerken's efforts.

"He's a very, very solid player, knows what he's doing, doesn't seem to be bothered by much," Perman said. "He's going to become better and better every year."

As has happened many times this fall, the Red and Blue started slowly on the first day of the tournament. Perman shot a 76 and fellow senior Peyton Wallace shot a 78, forming the bulk of the 311 score which left Penn tied for fifth place with Villanova, nine shots behind Lehigh.

"We started pressing for shots coming down the stretch the first day, and took some high scores as a result," Davidson said.

"Everybody struggled to score," said Perman.

But the Quakers remained upbeat about their chances.

"We all felt that we could still come back and contend and have at least a top two or three finish," Wallace said. "In team golf, nine shots isn't really that much."

Indeed, Wallace led the charge on Sunday, and Penn shot a tournament-low 301 to put them level with the Engineers, who remained atop the leaderboard after 36 holes.

The course, known as the Wissahickon, has long been recognized as one of the best in the greater Philadelphia region.

"It's definitely one of the top courses," Perman said. "It's got very fast greens, and when you miss shots out there, you tend to get penalized."

"It's the nicest venue we play all year in any tournament," Davidson said. "Francis Vaughan [Penn's director of golf] has coordinated the event and put a lot of time into it."

The fact that Wissahickon is Penn's "home course" was not at all lost on the players and coaches.

"With all the traveling we do, I think it tires the guys out," Davidson said. "It was very nice to sleep in your own bed.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.