A surprising Tufts golf team, aided by a home course advantage, slipped by Harvard in a triangular meet at Stowe Acres yesterday afternoon but the Crimson salvaged a split with a victory over Amherst.

When Tufts' number one man, Bob Johnson, beat Fred Sherman, 1-up, it was obvious that the usually-unimpressive Jumbos would not be a pushover this year.

Tufts managed three other victories, two of which were won on the last hole, as Harvard dropped one half of its only match-play meet of the year, 4-3.

Harvard-in edging Amherst. 4-3-had six scores under 80, showing definite improvement over the first two matches. Number four man Skip Barry turned in the low score of the day (73) and won both of his matches easily. He beat his Tufts opponent 3 and 2, and handled the Amherst man 3 and 1.

Barry, who registered three birdies in the last five holes, said of his performance. "The course was short and not too tough, so it wasn't such a blazing score. But I do feel I'm finally getting some of the bad swings out of my system."

Sophomore Andy Marks had a great day, playing at number seven, winning both of his matches easily and shooting a 75. Marks had a near hole-in-one on the 120-yard 15th. His tee shot hit about a foot in front of the hole, hit the pin, and dropped a couple of inches away.

"I thought I had it. The other two guys almost shit their pants," commented Marks.

The Crimson's John Stoviak, playing at number two, also won both of his matches. Stoviak lost the first three holes of both contests but came back strong to take both matches by identical 1-up scores.

Three Crimson golfers-Skip Kistner, Bill Salatich, and Terry Wynne-had disappointing days. losing two 18-hole contests each. Only captain Fred Sherman split, losing to Johnson and beating the Lord Jeff's number-one man, 2 and 1.