It’s not every day that a NESCAC Champion comes to Clinton, New York. That all changed this past weekend, when the Hamilton men’s golf team finished atop the ten-team field in the two-day championship tournament at the Yahnundasis Golf Club in New Hartford to earn its first team NESCAC title since 2003.
In Saturday’s first round, the five-man team of Billy Geach ’23, Jacob Zeng ’24, Jack McKeon ’22, Jack Habeeb ’22 and Will Whitaker ’25 teed off in the early groups and were able to amass an eight-stroke lead over the rest of the competition with a combined score of 300 (+16) between the top four golfers. As the later groups trickled in, it became clear that the Continentals would be in contention for the team title as they led some of the favorites coming into the competition, Tufts, Amherst and Middlebury, by eight strokes.
Geach, playing in the number three position, put up an impressive even-par round of 71 behind a whopping six birdies, launching him to an outright individual lead after one round of play. Each of the team’s top four notched a score in the 70s on Saturday.
Coming into the final round on Sunday, they picked up right where they left off, dropping very few strokes over the front nine and expanding the team lead to 18 strokes. Though the lead eventually tightened on the tricky back nine, they had built enough of a cushion to cruise to a 12-stroke victory over second-place Tufts. Jacob Zeng led the way on Sunday with a 72 (three birdies) and finished the tournament fifth overall for individuals. Senior captain McKeon said that he felt comfortable with the lead on Sunday, allowing them to build upon the strong Saturday round and close out the championship: “The team’s goal heading into Sunday was to play to win, rather than simply holding onto the lead. We all had a few shots in the first round that we wanted back, and Sunday gave us that chance to improve. I actually had no idea until the 11th hole, but by the time we reached the back nine, the lead had widened a little more, which gave us the chance to loosen up and have some fun out there.”
McKeon’s rounds of 74 put him in fourth place overall on the individual leaderboard, one stroke behind his teammate Geach, who finished on the podium in third. Between Geach, McKeon, Zeng and first-year Whittaker, each of the four scorers finished in the top-nine overall, a tremendous display of depth and consistency that made them nearly impossible to take down this weekend.
McKeon also commended the team’s perseverance throughout the entire year. “We have a very resilient team, and I think those qualities helped us get to where we are now. Coming off a six-month break between tournaments is always tough, but we continued to work throughout the offseason which allowed us to come out sharp in April. From there, we continued to find ways to improve despite some tough weather and canceled tournaments. The grit we showed in those weeks prepared us nicely for the championship.”
With this win, the team qualifies for the four-round Division III National Championships at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. Looking forward to the team’s trip into relatively uncharted territory, McKeon said, “Nationals is obviously a lot different from NESCACs, but the team goal stays the same. If we go out there and play our game, I think we can be competitive with anyone. No matter the result though, nationals is a great experience and will hopefully be a lot of fun for the team.”
The National Championships will run from May 10 to 13 and will feature 43 teams from across the nation. With the team’s depth from positions one through five, there is no reason to believe they will not make a push for the team title. For now, McKeon and the team will celebrate the victory, “I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to my time on the team. We’ve had some very deep and talented teams throughout the years, and it feels great to finally break through and win the conference for the guys both past and present.”
