Rain Fails to Dampen Men’s Golf As Harvard Takes Third at Rod Myers Invitational

Although lightning may have struck more than twice, the Harvard Crimson (-12, 3rd), led by third-place finisher and junior captain William Ma (-6, T3), took third in a competitive field at the 36-hole Rod Myers Invitational hosted by Duke (-9, 4th) in Durham, N.C.

Sophomore Morgan Riley (-4, T11) and freshman Alex Zhang (-4, T11) braved the wet course to tie for 11th, joining Ma as the three Crimson to finish among the top 25.

The Rod Myers certainly wasn’t this Harvard squad’s first bout with harsh weather, as the 2026 Ivy Championship, in which the Crimson narrowly bested Princeton (+10, 12th), saw the second round played in rain-drenched conditions.

Riley, having shot 10-over in round two of the Ivy Championship due to the difficult course conditions, demonstrated marked improvement by hitting four under par in the similarly slick weather in Durham.

Unlike the Ivy Championship, however, Princeton was not nearly as much of a threat to Harvard, as the Crimson finished with a 22-stroke lead over the Tigers. Princeton was Harvard’s only conference rival in the 13-team field.

A pair of North Carolina squads, including the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) (-20, 1st) and the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) (-15, 2nd), came in first and second, respectively, with UNCW beating the Crimson by just three strokes.

The third round of the tournament was canceled due to unplayable weather conditions, and the second round was also delayed halfway through on Monday and resumed on Tuesday.

Although UNCG firmly held its lead across the two rounds, Xavier (-4, 6th) and Northern Illinois (-2, T7) were much more formidable opponents after Round One was said and done, with both teams shooting eight-under and six-under, respectively.

Yet, with the weather break halfway through Round Two, the two teams’ early leads crumbled as they both shot four-over. Coinciding with excellent performances from Duke (-7 in Round Two) and George Mason (-7 in Round Two, -5, 5th), the Blue Devils and Patriots leapfrogged into fourth and fifth place, respectively.

In his second-ever collegiate tournament, A. Zhang brought home five birdies in Round One, shooting three below par, helping pave the way for Harvard’s third place by notching the team’s best individual round score.

Coming off his first-place finish at the Red Bandana Invitational, junior Barry Zhang (+2, T41) also performed strongly, shooting even par in Round One.

B. Zhang also earned one of Harvard’s three eagles of the tournament, hitting two under par on the monster 573-yard, par-five seventh hole.

Riley and Ma also began their path to the top 15 in Round One by hitting two and one under par, respectively.

Junior Jonathan Hartono (+6, T60) and sophomore Isaac Ahn (+5, IND T53) both found adjusting to the course in Round One more difficult, scoring four-over and three-over, respectively.

Depending on when one might’ve tracked the scoreboard — especially on Monday night — one would have found an incredible sight. Although still trailing UNCG and UNCW, Harvard was led by A. Zhang on holes 6-11, where the rookie hit three birdies to bring his overall score to six under par until the round restarted Tuesday morning.

While A. Zhang tallied two more birdies, his four bogeys after the weather delay on holes 1, 2, 15, and 17 brought his overall round score to one-under and his tournament score to four under par.

Riley went spotless on the front nine in Round Two, making three birdies and securing an eagle on the 14th hole to bring his round total to two under par.

Across the squad, the front nine served Harvard much better in terms of birdies, as the team registered 18 versus eight on the back nine. Ma also brought home an eagle on hole three, leaving the Crimson with an eagle on both the front and back nine in Round Two.

Holes 16-18 were particularly tricky in Round Two as Harvard didn’t record a birdie and each golfer hit at least one bogey.

Moreover, across the top three teams, only three birdies were earned on the last three holes.

Speaking of Ma’s eagle, the junior additionally earned three other birdies on the front nine, working toward his five-under second-round score, the best round by a Crimson golfer.

B. Zhang, Hartono, and Ahn all posted two-over scores in Round Two, marking a notable improvement for both Hartono and Ahn, but a slight step back for B. Zhang.

Although the squad would’ve undoubtedly loved to play a third round and continue to prove themselves in a field of top-tier programs, walking away with third, ahead of hosts Duke and Xavier, to name a few, certainly isn’t a disappointing result.

The Crimson will join the Tigers yet again next weekend for a bout at the annual Macdonald Cup hosted by Yale in New Haven, Conn.

Excitingly for Ivy League golf fans, Brown University, which has competed at the club level since 2020, will be joining the other seven varsity Ivy squads for the competition.

With rainy conditions forecast in New Haven due to an incoming Nor’easter, the Crimson will once again ready itself to brave the weather and defend its Ivy title at the Macdonald Cup.

—Staff writer Leo P. Petropoulos can be reached at [email protected].