Fresh off a season that culminated in its first Ivy League championship in 41 years, the Harvard men’s golf team kicked off its campaign with a sixth-place finish at the Doc Gimmler. The event was hosted by St. John’s University, and took place at Bethpage State Park’s Red Course in Farmingdale, N.Y.

The Crimson walked away with a score that put the group at 12 strokes over par overall. Rhode Island came out champions, finishing at 15 under par after 72 holes of play, while Seton Hall took home the runner-up position, five strokes off the leader’s pace.

“Building on a lot of the momentum we picked up during the season last year, a lot of the upperclassmen are already dialed in,” Harvard coach Kevin Rhoads said. “Being super sharp is pretty necessary as far as when scoring will come along, and right now we are medium sharp…but I am comfortable with how our progression is coming along.”

The Bethpage Red Course measured at 7,092 yards and played at a par 70 for the tournament. Two rounds were played on Saturday in humid weather conditions with temperatures hovering near 90 degrees for most of the day. Sunday featured one morning round.

Taking third was Harvard’s Ancient Eight rival Yale, who arrived at Bethpage as the defending Doc Gimmler champions. This time, the group combined for a 9-under par score of 831. The only other school to finish below par was UConn at seven shots below par.

Villanova rounded out the top five, finishing one shot ahead of the Crimson.

On the individual side, Harvard was led by junior Greg Royston. Royston used a round three 66 to carry himself 20 spots up the leaderboard Sunday, earning a share of seventh place at 2-under par. Royston was particularly strong on par five holes, carding a cumulative score of 5-under par, the second-lowest mark for any participant.

“One of the great things about last year is the success we experienced really enhanced the excitement we all feel about this team and its potential,” Royston said. “We are all very much on the same page, buying in to our coach’s message, and ready to give it our all for this season.”

Senior Kendrick Vinar channeled his inner Royston in round three as well, shooting 15 slots up the standings Sunday en route to a tie for 19th overall. Sophomore Seiya Liu came out of the gate hot in round one, firing a 69, good enough for a ninth-place tie after the opening 18 holes. He would finish the weekend in the 39th position after rounds of 73 and 75 to finish his tournament.

Just behind Liu was freshman Rij Patel, checking in at 42nd in the field of 78 competitors. Rounding out the team for Harvard was captain Daniel De La Garza.

“One thing I think is really fortunate for us right now on the men’s side of things is that we are very deep from a personnel perspective,” Rhoads said. “Everyone on the team now really knows what they are doing and how to go about doing it.”

UConn’s Jimmy Hervol came away with the individual title, riding a round three 65 to overcome the challenge of Rhode Island’s Dawson Jones, who finished three strokes back.

Harvard did its best work in the short game, ranking behind only Rhode Island and Yale on par threes. Despite Royston’s par five success, the Crimson as a team could only manage an eighth-place ranking in that department.

—Staff writer Jed Rothstein can be reached at jrothstein@college.harvard.edu.