SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (October 12, 2025) – The Western New England men's golf team wrapped up a 54-hole tournament over two days at Saratoga Spa State Park Golf Course this past weekend at the Skidmore Invitational, finishing 13
th out of 17 teams, while
Derek Johnson claimed his third outright victory of the season and seventh career win overall.
How it Happened:
Six Golden Bears competed this weekend, five contributing to the team score.
Derek Johnson,
Jeremy Burke,
Alex Noti,
Kyle DeGroff, and
Kody Yancey scored for the Golden Bears, while
Robert DeFeo competed as an individual.
For the third time out of four tournaments this season, sophomore
Derek Johnson finished in first place at the tournament, shooting five under par the 54-hole tournament to claim victory. Johnson defeated Amherst College's Thomas Zhang by one stroke while six total athletes finished under par for the tournament. Johnson started the tournament slowly through his first 18 holes, shooting an even-par 36 on the front nine with three bogeys, two birdies, and an eagle on hole three. He then went three over on the back nine with bogeys on 10 and 11 and his only double bogey of the round on 16, shooting a 75 overall. Johnson continued on day one with a new set of 18 holes and took par of eight of the nine front nine holes, notching a birdie on hole three to shoot a stroke under par, a 35 overall for the front nine. Johnson then turned up his competition, totaling four birdies on the back nine to shoot four strokes under par, a 67, his second-lowest score in his career in blue and gold, shooting a -5 for the second 18-holes and a -2 for a combined day one score.
The Mountain Top, Pennsylvania native picked up a pair of bogeys and one birdie on the front nine on Sunday's day two of the event, shooting a stroke over par for the front nine, but his back nine saw the sophomore recorded another four-birdie round, which put Johnson four strokes under par for the nine holes and a -3 for the day, ending the 54-hole tournament at -5, the only player out of 99 to do so, being crowned tournament champion—his third win in four events this season.
Jeremy Burke played in his second tournament of the season and finished +20 for the 54-holes. Burke shot an 82 for the opening 18-holes of day one, collecting one birdie, seven bogeys, a pair of double bogeys, and eight pars. Burke improved four strokes for the second round of 18-holes on day one of the event, shooting a
78 overall, collecting seven bogeys, a birdie, and ten pars to cap off the round at +16, shooting a 160 overall.
Burke improved his score again on the final day of the invitational, shooting just four strokes over par to wrap up with a 76 overall. Burke picked up five bogeys for Sunday's round but had a pair of birdies to go along with ten pars, finishing +20 for the 54-hole course.
Alex Noti shot eight strokes over par to open Saturday's first round, hindered by six bogeys and a pair of double bogeys for the Golden Bears, shooting 80 overall. Noti picked himself up and improved five strokes for the second round of the event, shooting a 75 just three strokes over par. On the front nine, the sophomore shot an even par, 36 overall, notching a pair of bogeys and pair of birdies. Noti had just two pars on the back nine, collecting five bogeys and two birdies to shoot three strokes over par.
On day two, Noti came in with a 79 overall, seven strokes over par. The front nine saw Noti shoot three strokes over par, a bogey on hole one and double on hole seven. The Odessa, Florida native then shot a birdie on hole 15 but bogeyed holes 10 and 18 and doubled hole 14 to finish 18 strokes over par for the 54-hole event.
Kyle DeGroff competed in his first tournament of the season and began the opening 18-holes with an 80 overall. DeGroff picked up a 41 for the opening nine holes and improved his round by two strokes, shooting a 39 for the back nine, picking up five pars, two bogeys, a double bogey, and a birdie on hole 13 to finish +8 . DeGroff improved three strokes for the next 18-holes, shooting one stroke over par for the front nine, bogeying holes one and two but birdied hole seven to shoot a 37 overall. DeGroff's round was doomed by a quadruple bogey on hole 16. Despite that, the sophomore collected six pars and a birdie for the back nine to shoot a 40 on the back and a 77 for the round.
Day two saw DeGroff shoot one stroke over par of the front nine. DeGroff's triple bogey on hole four knocked down his excellent nine holes which saw six pars and a pair of birdies to shoot a 37 overall. DeGroff was tripped up on the back nine, producing six bogeys and just three pars to shoot a 42 for the back and a 79 for the day. For the event, DeGroff shot +20.
Kody Yancey got his first taste of collegiate competition this past weekend, playing in his first event with the Golden Bears. Yancey shot an 86 for the opening 18-holes (+14). Yancey shot ten strokes over par for the front nine but improved drastically for the back nine, picking up five pars and four bogeys to come away with a four, shooting just four over par to post an 86. Yancey then improved his total score by five strokes on the second round of 18 for the Golden Bears. Yancey stayed strong on the back nine, shooting a 39, picking up his first career birdie on hole 12 on a par five. Yancey collected a 42 for the front nine, finishing the afternoon with an 81.
The Webster, New York native tallied ten bogeys on the second day of the invitational, shooting seven strokes over par for the front nine and ten strokes over for the back nine to complete the 54-hole tournament with an 89 for day two. Yancey shot +40 for the event in his first competition of the season.
Robert DeFeo improved his score each round, beginning with an 84 on the first round of 18 on Saturday. DeFeo recorded just seven pars for himself in the opening round of the event while producing eight bogeys and a pair of double bogeys, shooting 12 strokes over par to begin the tournament. The Western New England senior improved by two strokes on the second day of the event, which included shooting a 40 on the front nine, picking up his first birdie of the season in his first tournament played of the year. DeFeo wrapped up the back nine with two strokes more, shooting a 42, carding an 82 for the second round.
DeFeo continued to improve on day two. He shot a 40 for the front nine, including his first eagle of the season on hole three which brought him back down to even, but a triple bogey on the next hole set DeFeo back to three strokes over on the front nine and finished out +4 overall for the front nine holes. DeFeo shot a 39, his low for the tournament, on the back nine, finishing the afternoon with a 79. DeFeo ended up shooting a +29 overall for the event.
Placement:
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears will play in their final fall tournament of the season next weekend, beginning on Saturday, October 18th for the 91st edition of the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Championships at The Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Massachusetts.
