On the last hole of his round, Post Graduate Billy Stahley ’16 was left with a speedy, downhill six-foot pressure putt to halve his match. With a clean stroke, Stahley lagged the ball into the hole to secure a critical half point in Andover Golf’s 4.5-4.5 tie against Proctor on Wednesday. Andover now boasts a 4-1-1 record.
While Proctor proved to be a strong opponent, Andover still managed to win three individual matches. Orlando Figus ’16, Co-Captain Pranav Tadikonda ’16, and Harry Choi ’19 all earned victories. The team won one of its three best ball matches.
Figus posted a one over par round of 36 in his first varsity match of the season. He excelled on the course, largely due to the consistency of his approach shots and putts.
“I played extremely well because both my irons and my putter was working,” Figus said. “If your wedges and your putting is working, you are most likely going to score very well. I enjoyed the day and the away course and I had no problems with the course.”
“We tied Proctor today with a disappointing performance,” Co-Captain Peter Hahn ’16 said. “The day was not without its highlights, however, as Harry Choi and Orlando Figus swept their matches to secure three huge points for us, and Billy Stahley sank a clutch five-footer on the last hole to halve his match. Without those guys, we would have walked away with an upset loss.”
Tadikonda played steadily throughout his entire match, never scoring higher than a bogey on any hole.
“I was pretty steady all day, but it came down to the last hole for my match,” he said. “My opponent and I were all square, and I needed to win the hole to tie the overall team match. I kept the ball in play on a tough finishing hole and made par to win the hole and win my match one-up.”
In his first career varsity match, Choi was able to pull out a 3&2 victory.
“I played pretty well today. I was hitting a lot of fairways and I was making a good amount of putts today,” Choi said.
The match was played at Lake Sunapee Country Club, a beautiful and challenging course located in New London, N.H. The course featured greens that were faster yet softer than the ones that the team faces on its home course.
“Playing at Lake Sunapee was a pleasure, as the course was really nice,” said Hahn. “I personally struggled to adjust to the greens, which threw me off the entire day. I think there was an adjustment period for everyone on the greens.”
“Looking forward, we have a lot of important matches coming up. We’ll look to build momentum heading into big clashes against teams like Deerfield and Exeter, who are perennial rivals,” he added.
The team will travel to Newport National Golf Club this Saturday, where it will host the annual Andover Invitational.
