Amidst gatherings, on-campus events and home sports games during Back to Bates weekend, the highlight of it all arguably competed off-campus. The Bates Men’s Golf team finished 12th overall over the 18-hole course on October 8, led by Freddie Curtis ’25 . Curtis, a member of both the Men’s Golf and Track and Field teams, shot a personal best of 71, one under par for the course. 71 set a new Bates program record and finished ninth out of 119 competitors at the Skidmore Fall Invitational. 

Bates Men’s Golf recently participated in back-to-back weeks playing at nearby Brunswick Golf Club at the Bowdoin College Invite and CBB Championship. Bates finished in 12th and second places respectively, and they were all set to make the long trip to Skidmore to compete in a 21-team field. However, the first day of the tournament was canceled due to rain, and the competition would now take place over one day. 

Looking back on his finish to the tournament, Curtis said, “I was one over par standing on the 17th tee box, and knew I had to finish with two birdies to shoot my career best of 71. I birdied the par five on 17 with a nice wedge shot which just rolled past the hole and stuck an eight iron to 15 feet on 18, a par four. I had an uphill putt, breaking from left to right, so I knew I had to start the putt outside the hole and trust that it would break in. Once the ball left the club face, I knew I would have a good look at birdie, and eventually, it hung on the lip and went in.”

Curtis was rewarded for his round by being awarded Male Athletics Bobcat of the Week. Men’s Golf concluded their fall season this past weekend at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Massachusetts, in the NEIGA Championship. The team finished in fourth place out of 20 schools, with Arthur Jenkins ’27 tying for eighth place out of 102 golfers.