Columbia finishes 3rd at Rutgers Invitational

(CSTV U-WIRE) NEW YORK -- The Columbia men's golf team crawled up the leaderboard at the Rutgers Invitational on Saturday to finish third out of 20 teams. The Lions were in fourth place after 18 holes at the two-day event.

Columbia made it through six holes before the first round was halted due to rain. Junior standout Chris Condello posted an even-par 71, sixth best in the clubhouse on Friday. Seniors Matt Wong and Scott Chisholm each shot 2-over 73 to tie for 13th at the midway point, while sophomore Chris Arkin turned in a four-over 75. The Lions foursome tied Seton Hall, as Villanova led by four strokes overall.

"We were a little slow coming back from the rain delay and didn't really find a groove," Condello said. "I think we struck the ball well, but putting is probably what let us down a little in the end."

Condello followed up his first round with another solid 71. Wong also shot 71, while Chisholm came back with a 1-over 72. Arkin finished 32nd in the field of 80 with a second-round 3-over 74. Freshman Sam Horowitz made his debut for Columbia with rounds of 77 and 79.

Condello tied with James Madison's Tim Driver for sixth while Wong finished two strokes back in a group tied for 10th.

Seton Hall eventually stole the tournament away from the Wildcats with Saturday's low round of 282, a 10-stroke improvement from its opening round and eight strokes better than Villanova's 290.

UConn's Jason Parajeckas surged to the top spot individually with rounds of 72 and 65. Condello was one of six players to finish at even par or better, with just four players remaining in the red at the 6,337-yard course.

The Lions will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 21 at the McLaughlin, hosted by St. John's. They will be playing at Bethpage State Park's Red Course in Farmingdale, N.Y, the site of the 102nd U.S. Open Championship in 2002.

(C) 2006 Columbia Daily Spectator via U-WIRE