G o l f N e w s SPRING / 2016

A NOTE FROM THE ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTS

Dear Fellow YGA Members,

As we get started with another new season, it is exciting to hear all of the great news from Chawwadee and Colin about the state of the teams, amazing Spring Break trips and active competitive schedules. It is the ongoing support of all of you as part of the Association that makes this possible, and provides special opportunities like the ones that so many of us had as student-athletes during our time at Yale.

Looking ahead, we are hoping to create some new ways for us to get together as alumni to continue the tradition of camaraderie and friend-ship. Finding a date for the YGA outing is always a challenge, and with commitments to work and family there is no perfect time for every-one. In considering the best options for 2016 in consultation with the coaches, we thought that tying it to another event would help give the event a welcomed boost, and also allow Association members to meet some of the current team members as an added bonus.

To this end, we have decided to hold the YGA Championship in con-junction with the College-Am on the Friday of the Macdonald Cup Men’s Invitational at Yale on September 30 with a 1 pm shotgun start. ‎A few players from the women’s team will be around that day as well. Groups will have the choice to be paired with a collegiate golfer as their fi fth, or compete on your own for the round with your own foursome. In addition to the team competition, participants will also have the op-tion to play their own ball to vie for the YGA Championship as in years

past. Space will be limited as we expect a strong turnout for the joint event, so please email Colin to reserve your spot as soon as possible.

For those who are unable to make it for golf that afternoon, please feel free to join us for lunch or the reception after golf on September 30 where all of the collegiate teams competing in the Macdonald Cup will be in attendance.

We also encourage you to come out to watch the men's team play dur-ing ‎that weekend (36 holes on Saturday and another 18 on Sunday), as well as the women's team during their invitational the following week-end (October 7-9).

We will also be sending out information shortly on ways to make a contribution or sponsor the events to provide funding for the teams and their continued success.

Thank you for your generosity in funding our student-athletes the YGA and please reach out to us as co-presidents of the Association as we continue to build Yale Golf for the future. Look forward to seeing you up in New Haven in 2016!

Best Regards,

Ilona Emmerth ’98 Ed Brockner ‘01Co-President Co-President

2.

MEN’S & WOMEN’S GOLF / SPRING, 2016

COACH’S CORNER

COLIN SHEEHAN ’97

Dear YGA,

I’m pleased to report the team is in great spirits fol-lowing a solid fall campaign that began with a third con-secutive win at St. John’s Doc Gimmler at Bethpage Red on Long Island—an event where Li Wang ’17 became the fi rst Yalie on the men’s side to win a college event since Joe Willis ’16 won that same event two

years earlier. The most memorable day from the fall was certainly the Bush Cup at Winged Foot, which was an old-fashioned dual match between Yale and Army in honor of President George H. W. Bush. The Walker Cup-style format included morning foursomes (alternate shot) on the East course followed by afternoon singles on the club’s famous West course. While the match ultimately end-ed in a 6-6 draw, the pomp and circumstance throughout the day, including an incredible banquet with Retire General Odierno ad-dressing the attendees, was unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed in college golf and I know it was something the players will cherish.

Despite the occasional winter storms, the players have been quite active since returning to campus in January for the spring semester. They meet for team wide workouts three days a week in addition to spending time in the David Paterson Golf Technology Center on the second fl oor of the Payne Whitney Gym. We are grateful for the support from the alums that helped donate a Trackman launch monitor that provides very accurate and detailed feedback. On the occasional mild day—and, believe it or not, there have been a few this winter—the players have gone to the Yale course for outdoor

range sessions. All of their activities have been preparation for the spring break trip to Northern California that will start on March 16. We will spend a week practicing and playing courses around the Bay Area, and a few notable gems on the Monterrey Peninsula, including Pebble Beach. The trip concludes with Stanford’s home invitational, a three-day, 54-hole event Wally Goodwin at their university course. It is a strong, large-fi eld event with 24 teams including some of the fi nest players in amateur golf like Stanford’s Maverick McNealy. Needless to say, the players are excited and eager at the chance to compete in such a prestigious event.

Following the conclusion of the Wally Goodwin on Saturday, March 26, the players will catch a red-eye back home to JFK that lands early on Easter Sunday morning. We are hoping to be able to begin start practices and qualifi ers that fi rst weekend of April. The following weekend—Masters weekend—the team looks to defend the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club followed by the Yale Spring Invitational on Saturday, April 16, which will be played as a one-day, 36 hole event. And before the spring will even feel like it has arrived, the team will leave on Thursday morning, April 21 for the Ivy League Championship at Metedekonk Na-tional Golf Club in Jackson, New Jersey. The 54-hole event will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 22, 23 and 24.

I like how the team has taken on the attitude and leadership of the captain, Joe Willis ’16. He has been a remarkably strong and steady presence on the team during his four years. The players are rallying behind him to make as strong a push as possible in the run-up to the Ivies. No matter what happens, I can promise they will put forward their most concerted and strongest effort. I thank everyone for their ongoing support and I invite you to come watch them compete in any our upcoming events.

Sincerely,Colin

What is your outlook on the 2016 spring season? I am excited and optimistic about the spring season. It is always a long winter away from the course, but the team has been putting in a lot of work this offseason, and we are eager to get back out there and start competing again. Starting the spring off by playing in Stanford's tournament is going to be amazing. We feel very privi-leged to have been invited and to have the opportunity to compete against some elite teams. Then, we travel to Princeton, which is always one of our favorite events, before playing at home and then at Ivies, where we are determined to have a strong showing.

How would you describe this year's team in one word? Competitive. In every way. We're competitive with ourselves to constantly get better. We push each other in practice and in qualifying to reach full potential. And of course we love competing with other teams on the course.

What does it mean to be a captain at Yale? Being a captain at Yale is surreal. I think I took it for granted for a while because I am the only senior on the team, so I knew it would be me. At the banquet last year though, our coach introduced me as the (I think) 120th captain of the Yale Men's Golf team, and that is when it really hit me what an honor it was. It is an incredibly storied university and program, and I am so grateful and prideful to be a part of that history. I have also loved the opportunity to lead my teammates. There an amazing group of guys that I have become extremely close with this year.

What are your plans after graduating? I will be heading back home to the Chicago Area where I will work for a proprietary trading fi rm called Gelber Group. I interned there last summer and am thrilled to be going back. I know that I will fi nd ways to keep golf a big part of my life, whether that be through casual rounds, amateur events in the summer, or working with organizations like the First Tee.

CAPTAINS CORNER ͵ JOE WILLIS ’16

3.

MEN’S & WOMEN’S GOLF / SPRING, 2016

COACH’S CORNER

CHAWWADEE ROMPOTHONG ’00

Dear YGA,

We begin another season of Yale Golf and I am pleased to report that the team is healthy and dili-gently working hard to-wards an 8th Ivy League title this April which will be contested at The Stan-wich Club in Greenwich, CT.

We brought in three outstanding freshmen who have big shoes to fi ll after we graduated three remarkable seniors last year. Julio Luo’19, Sydney Babiack’19 and Sabrina Luo’19 showed great po-tential this fall and I am excited for the future of this team.

We started the fall season with three tournaments, one of which was a premiere college tournament at Vanderbilt University where we competed against sixteen of the top programs in the country.

This was quite the experience and the team had a taste of what it takes to be a top 20 Division 1 program. I would like to thank the Garmezy Family again for being great hosts while we were in Nashville. They defi nitely made the visit to Vanderbilt a memo-rable one and we are looking forward to returning next fall!

We kick off the spring season on March 11th as we head to St. George, Utah to compete at the BYU Entrada Classic on March 14 & 15. Following the Entrada Classic, we will head south to com-pete at Ole Miss April 1-3 and then will wrap up our regular spring season in North Carolina April 11-12 at the River Landing Classic. If you are in any of these areas we would love to see you!¬¬¬

As always, we are extremely thankful for your support of Yale Golf and our pursuit for a championship. Your donations are criti-cal to our success and last year’s gift of the TrackMan system has been invaluable during the winter months. The Dave Paterson Golf Technology Center has truly been a game changer for the teams and all this would not be possible without your support.

Hope to see you this spring,Chawwadee

What is your outlook on the 2016 spring season?

I'm excited! There are only a few months until the Ivy League Championships and I think everyone's mindset is that of trying to make each day count. We're train-ing both hard and smart, focusing on the process, and strengthening the physical and mental skills we want to execute in competition. Each member is extremely tal-ented and motivated so I look forward to our team real-izing our full potential during the spring season.

How would you describe this year's team in one word? Driven.

What does it mean to be a captain at Yale? It has been a wonderful experience. I am incredibly lucky to be leading a group of amazing young women. We all understand what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we have competing together as a varsity athletics team at Yale. We want to do our best not only for ourselves, but also for our families, our coach and trainers, Yale Uni-versity, Yale Athletics, the staff at The Course at Yale, previous and future Yale Women's Golf Teams, and all Friends of Yale Golf. Taking on the role of captain has allowed me to see that much more clearly and help my team understand that we're competing for something much bigger than ourselves.

What are your plans after graduating? I hope to travel with family and friends before I move to New York City to start job training. I will be joining J.P. Morgan as a full-time Sales & Trading Analyst.

CAPTAINS CORNER ͵ DEANNA SONG ’16

4.

MEN’S & WOMEN’S SCHEDULE SPRING 2016

MEN

Mar 24 - 26, 2016 at The Goodwin InvitaƟ onal hosted by Stanford Palo Alto, Calif.

Apr 9 - 10, 2016 at Princeton InvitaƟ onal Springdale, Princeton, N.J. Apr 16, 2016 Yale Spring InvitaƟ onal Yale Golf Course

Apr 22 - 24, 2016 at Ivy League Championship Metedekonk NaƟ onal, Jackson, N.J.

WOMEN

Mar 14 - 15, 2016 at BYU Entrada Classic

Apr 1 - 3, 2016 at Ole Miss Rebel Classic

Apr 9 - 10, 2016 at River Landing Classic

Apr 22 - 24, 2016 at Ivy League Championships

Facebook: Yale GolfTwitter: @YaleWGolf and @YaleMensGolfInstagram: @YaleWGolf and @YaleMensGolf

THE YGA CHAMPIONSHIP OUTING will be held in conjunction with the COLLEGE-AM on

Friday, September 30, 2016 with a 1pm shotgun start

D

For more informaƟ on and to RSVP, please contact Colin Sheehan at colin.sheehan@yale.edu.

SAVE THE DATE