PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Felician University men's golf team ground out a second-place finish at a high-scoring Griffin Invitational, hosted by Chestnut Hill College on Monday and Tuesday at Sunnybrook Golf Club. The event concluded the fall-semester segment of Felician's 2019-20 season.
None of the 29 players who completed both tournament rounds matched or broke par in the six-team event. Goldey-Beacom College freshman Hunter McGee was the medalist with rounds of 74 on Monday and 73 on Tuesday for a three-over-par tournament score of 147. Golden Falcon senior Jake Storako (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional) was one of a pair of players who tied for second with 77-74-151.
"Shot-making is at a premium at Sunnybrook," said Felician head coach Joe Ambrose. "The green complexes are very tough. It wasn't surprising to see not a single round under par."
Led by Storako's 77 and a 78 from sophomore Gonzalo Maldonado Felices (Almeria, Spain/Stella Maris), Felician carded a team score of 321 on Monday. At the end of play, the Golden Falcons were sitting in third place, behind Goldey-Beacom's 301 and a 316 from Adelphi University.
Tuesday morning called for a 9 a.m. shotgun start, and Felician senior Christian Lauchaire (Annandale, N.J./North Hunterdon) responded. Lauchaire signed for a 73, matching McGee for the best individual round of the tournament. Along with Storako's 74, the Golden Falcons posted a 315 to pass the Panthers in the final standings.
The Lightning finished with 301-300—601 and won the tournament by 35 strokes over the Golden Falcons. Felician (321-315—636) ended up four shots ahead of Adelphi (316-324—640), the only non-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference member in the field.
Individually, Lauchaire had struggled to an 82 on Monday on the 6,528-yard layout. His recovery on Tuesday moved him from a tie for 16th place into a final standing of seventh. Maldonado Felices finished 10th with 78-81—159, and Felician redshirt junior Prince Sukklabsawan (Si Racha, Thailand/Heritage Academy [S.C.]) shot 84-87—171 and finished 24th.
Felician played 13 rounds in its fall season. Storako, who completed all of them, leads the Golden Falcons with a stroke average of 75.92. He is ahead of his school-record pace from last year during which he averaged 76.81 over 21 rounds.
