Athletics

Varsity Sports

Men's Golf

Overview

Greg Scott '14 and Carter White '14 lead the Hamilton College men's golf team into 2012-13. Both players earned spots on the 2011 NESCAC All-Conference team based on their performance in the NESCAC championship qualifier held at Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middlefield, Connecticut. Scott tied for fourth place and made the first team while White tied for 14th and landed on the second team. Hamilton finished fourth out of 10 teams in the qualifier and advanced to the NESCAC championship for the fourth time in five years. Four of the five golfers that competed in the 2012 NESCAC Championship return this season. Those four are Scott, White, Julian Ophals '14 and Dhanika De Silva '15. Knute Gailor '13 is the lone senior on the roster.

The 2012 NESCAC Championship Qualifier will be hosted by Amherst College at Hickory Ridge Golf Club on Sept. 29 and 30. The top four teams advance to the 2013 conference championship, which is hosted by the school that finishes first in the qualifier, in late April. The winner of the NESCAC championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III championship. Five NESCAC programs, including Hamilton, have competed as a team in the NCAA championship. The Continentals finished in 19th place at Taconic Golf Course in Williamstown, Mass., in 1999.

In addition to the NESCAC events, Hamilton plays 36-hole tournaments at Middlebury College, Williams College and St. Lawrence University in the fall. The Continentals practice at the private, 18-hole Skenandoa Club just one mile from campus, and host one tournament in the fall and spring. A two-day October event is played at Skenandoa and at Yahnundasis Golf Course in nearby New Hartford. The team travels south during the College's spring break in March. Hamilton spent nearly two weeks at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in 2012.

Scott followed a spectacular rookie year with a solid season as a sophomore in 2011-12. He was named to the Northeast Region all-region team by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) for the second straight year in 2012. Scott's 18-hole stroke average was 75.4 for 20 rounds, and 17 of his 20 scores were better than 80. Scott finished in the top five in five tournaments and in the top 10 nine times.

White owned the second-best stroke average on the team last year at 79.3 for 18 rounds. Ophals followed close behind with a 79.8 for 18 rounds. Mac Pivirotto '15 shot a season-best 75 in the second round at the NESCAC qualifier, and helped the Continentals advance to the championship with a two-day total of 151. Pivirotto's stroke average for the season was 80.4.

Scott capped his freshman season with GCAA third team all-America honors, and spots on the Division III all-freshman and Northeast Region all-region teams. His 18-hole stroke average was 74.7 for 21 rounds. Scott's 67 in the first round at the SUNY Oswego Spring Invitational tied a program record, and his 139 for 36 holes at that tournament is believed to be another team record. He also made the 2010 NESCAC All-Conference second team.

Men's golf has been a varsity sport at Hamilton since 1930. The program emerged as one of the strongest in the Northeast during the 1990s. Four individuals, including Brian Williams '04 in 2004, have participated in the NCAA championship since 1989. Three players have earned all-America status including Scott in 2011, Steve Elkins '90 in 1990 and H. Ward Wettlaufer '59 was a two-time honoree in 1958 and 1959.

The Continentals captured NESCAC championship titles in 1990, 1998 and 2003. Fourteen Hamilton players have earned a total of 23 all-conference selections the past 12 years. Phil Preiss '10 was the 2009 player of the year, and it marked the third time a Continental claimed the award during that decade. In 2003, Williams was player of the year for the second straight year, and Chris Pike '07 was rookie of the year.

Brad Roche '11 was a two-time all-region selection and a three-time NESCAC all-conference team member, including the first team twice. Roche finished second in the 2007 NESCAC qualifier at The Skenandoa Club and captured the rookie of the year award. Roche made the GCAA Northeast Region all-region team in 2008 and 2009. He was also selected to the 2008 Division III all-freshman team.

Exceptional academic performance has always been a staple of the men's golf program. Dave Christie '09, Jeff Corbett '09 and Mike Hayes '08 were selected Division III all-America scholars by the GCAA in 2008 and Corbett made the list again in 2009. Scott Blosser '12 made the 2011 NESCAC Fall All-Academic team. Each honoree has a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35 and must have reached sophomore academic standing at his institution.