Bethpage is synonymous with golf. The host of the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open—the former witnessing a strong late-tournament surge by Phil Mickelson, only to finish three strokes back of Tiger Woods—Bethpage seems a fitting place to kick off the 2009 campaign for Harvard men’s golf.

Channeling the prowess of the golf legends who had walked the course before them, the Crimson improved on last year’s ninth-place finish by placing fifth—tied with host St. John’s—in the 18-school field.

“It was a very successful weekend, a great start to the season,” sophomore Mark Pollak said. “[We] continued the great run we had at the end of last year and pushed it into this year.”

The tournament was played on the Red course—not the Black course where the U.S. Open is traditionally held—but the significance of the whole Bethpage State Park was not lost on the Harvard golfers.

“It’s really neat, because it’s a really interesting place as far as golf history goes,” Pollak said. “We went over to some of the Black course holes, and we were like ‘Woah, remember when Phil [Mickelson] made this shot here or Tiger [Woods] made this shot there?’ You can definitely feel the history. It definitely feels like a more prestigious event.”

Highlighting the weekend was the play of senior Greg Shuman, who finshed in a three-way tie for the tournament title. Shuman shot one under in the first round of play, shooting a 69 on the par-70 course. He then followed it up with a -2 in the second round, vying with Towson’s Nyasha Mauchaza, who was four under after two rounds, and UNC-Wilmington’s Stefan Brewer at five under.

But Shuman held on in the final round of play, shooting at +1, while Mauchaza and Brewer went +2 and +4, respectively.

“Overall, I thought I played well,” Shuman said. “I definitely hit the ball particularly well. I just plotted my way around and tried not to make a lot of big mistakes.”

The remaining Crimson contingent included regular stalwarts as well as a fresh face. Pollak and classmate Tony Grillo tied for the 18th spot—along with Johnson & Wales’ Jordan Meltzer—at +4 on the weekend. Grillo was up one stroke on Pollak after the first round (68-69), before the two switched spots (74-73), and then finished the tournament matched at 72.

Local boy Max Campion etched a spot for himself on the roster in his debut campaign. The rookie finished in a four-way tie at 64th. Shooting +13, Campion did exactly what his teammates were hoping he’d do.

“I think Max is a really good player, and he’s going to continue to get better,” Shuman said. “It’s definitely difficult adjusting to college. I think he’s going to be a very good player over the next four years.”

Rounding out the group was senior Danny Mayer, who finished in a five-way tie for 72nd, shooting +15.

For a team that finished ninth last year and dead last two years ago, Harvard is looking forward to making noise this year.

“This tournament shows the improvement we’ve made over the last two years,” Pollak said.

Both Pollak and Shuman stressed the importance of beating Dartmouth and Princeton, the other two Ivy schools participating at the tournament.

“We’re always happy to compete against the other Ivy League [schools] because it tells us where we’re at and where the other schools are at,” Pollak said. “[Our] confidence builds throughout the year, so hopefully when we go into Ivies, we know that we’ve beaten them before and hopefully can translate that into the Ivy schedule.”

“Overall for the weekend, I think we have a lot of positive things to say,” Shuman added. “We beat the only two other Ivies there. Definitely positive.”

—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.