June 29, 2011
WASHINGTON - Georgetown University rising junior men's golfer Curtis Loop (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) knew he wasn't going to have many more opportunities to play this summer, so he made sure one of his last outings this summer would be a memorable one.
Loop, who competed for the Hoyas as a sophomore in 2010-11 after transferring from Cal, was an All-BIG EAST selection in his first year on the Hilltop after leading GU to a tie for fourth place at the league championship.
Loop will be returning to the Nation's Capital shortly to take classes during the second summer session and as he starts an internship for the remainder of the off months. Those commitments made his appearance in the 56th Annual Metropolitan (N.Y.) Golf Association's Ike Championship this past weekend even more important to him.
He responded by posting a 5-over par 215 and finishing in fifth place among 67 golfers at Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville, N.J. on Sunday.
"I'm very pleased," Loop said over the phone from his home in Connecticut. "I haven't been really practicing as much as I would like to so this was pretty important to me. To have this type of finish in a big tournament is something I'm very pleased with."
Loop has been working as a caddy at his home club in New Canaan since arriving at home after finishing in 16th place at the BIG EAST Championship, but was able to play in a pair of tournaments prior to the strong finish at the Ike.
He placed 20th at the W.R. Hochster Invitational, held at famed Quaker Ridge and then lost in the semifinals of the Connecticut Amateur.
In the Connecticut Amateur, Loop played through two rounds of stroke play before advancing to the match play portion. He posted a 36-hole score of 3-over par 145 in the stroke play rounds and was seed No. 9 in match play. He won three matches before falling in the semifinals.
"I didn't play very well (at the Hochster, 76-81), but that was my first tournament for the summer, so I was really just getting into the swing of things," Loop said. "The Connecticut Am and for the Ike, I've been playing pretty consistently, getting a lot of pars and a few birdies. In the Amateur, I minimized by mistakes and was able to capitalize on mistakes from opponents.
This weekend's result at the Ike was good enough for Loop as he heads into July and readies himself for his next outing, a qualifier for the United States Amateur, on August 4 at Georgetown's home course, The Members Club at Four Streams.
"It was a great thing to play well and give me some confidence going into a quiet period," Loop said. "I'm going to be practicing as much as I can during the month at Georgetown and I'm happy to be playing well right now."
