Amherst Golf Returns at the Hamilton Spring Shootout

The men’s and women’s golf teams opened their 2021 seasons this past weekend at the Hamilton Spring Shootout, a one-day tournament at the Skenandoa Golf Club in Clinton, New York. In addition to Amherst, Hamilton College, Williams College, and Middlebury College also participated in the event.

The women’s team finished third overall with a score of 325, 11 strokes behind Williams, the event winner. First-year Jenny Hua ’24 led the way for Amherst in her first collegiate competition, carding an impressive score of 76, which tied her for first overall and awarded her the joint title of medalist with Williams’ Tianyi Zhuang. Fellow first-year Priya Bakshi ’24 also performed well in her collegiate debut, shooting a 79 and tying for sixth best overall. Mehr Luthra ’24 shot an 84, good for 15th overall. Isabelle Ouyang ’21 and Mina Lee ’22 both placed in the top 20 out of the 24 total participants, shooting an 86 and a 91 respectively.

The men’s team finished sixth in their division with a score of 350. Tommy Whitley ’24 was the best performing member of the men’s team, shooting a 79 and tying for 11th out of all participants. Michael Bakshandeh ’21 and Jay Lassiter ’24 shot an 88 and an 89 respectively, while Paul Griessel ’21 scored a 94, and Ben Byman ’24 scored a 95.

Looking forward, the men’s team will continue their season this coming weekend, participating in the Tufts Invitational on Saturday, April 17, before both the men’s and women’s teams compete in the Williams Invitational on Sunday, April 18.