GRANVILLE, Ohio -- The Allegheny College men's golf team began the 2023-24 season with a fourth-place showing at the annual Ted Barclay Invitational, two-day tournament hosted by Denison University at the Denison Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday.

The Gators finished Saturday's opening round in second out of nine teams with an 18-hole score of 298, one stroke ahead of Denison and Otterbein University. However, the Big Red and Cardinals both improved their scores on Sunday to leapfrog Allegheny, while the Gators carded a 303. Otterbein finished with a five-stroke lead over the Blue and Gold for third, 596-to-601.

Wittenberg University, tied for No. 8 in the country in the Division III men's golf preseason rankings, won the Ted Barclay Invitational with a 21-stroke lead over Denison.

Zachary Melzar (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional) paced the Gators with a 4-over 148, which put him in a two-way tie for 10th place on the leaderboard. Both Melzar and Carter Hassenplug (North East, Pa./North East) recorded a 1-over 73 on Saturday, tied for the best round by any Gator over the weekend. Hassenplug and Faaris Cheema (Dubai, UAE/Kings School Al Barsha) ended up tying for 14th with a two-round total of 150 (+6).

Allegheny Results
T-10. Zachary Melzar - 73-75-148
T-14. Faaris Cheema - 75-75-150
T-14. Carter Hassenplug - 73-77-150
T-37. Nadir Khan - 77-81-158
T-41. Bergas Anargya - 83-76-159
45. Connor Bell - 77-83-160

Team Results
1. Wittenberg - 279-288-567
2. Denison - 299-289-588
3. Otterbein - 299-297-596
4. Allegheny - 298-303-601
5. Wabash - 308-295-603
6. Muskingum - 307-304-611
7. Kenyon (B) - 306-313-619
8. Shawnee State - 309-317-626
9. Adrian - 322-310-632

Up Next
On Sunday, September 10, and Monday, September 11, the Gators will travel to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Dauphin Highlands Golf Club to compete in The Gauntlet.