Sept. 23, 2007
Zionsville, Ind. - For the second straight round, the Penn State men's golf team posted the best team score of the 15-team field at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, shooting two-over par 286 in the final round - six shots better than the next lowest team - and gaining 13 strokes on Day 1 leader Michigan to win the tournament.
"I'm extremely happy with the win," said Penn State head coach Greg Nye said. "I'm proud of how well the guys played, not just today, but during the whole tournament."
Coming off a second-place finish at last week's Hartford Hawks Invitational, the Nittany Lions posted rounds of 292-284-286 (862, +10), beating second-place Michigan (868, +16) by six shots and giving Coach Nye his 52nd career win at Penn State. Host team Indiana (869, +17) finished third.
"We didn't really do anything fancy today," Nye said. "We played steady throughout the tournament and played well down the stretch, which led us to the victory."
Seventy-eight players competed in the 54-hole event held at the 7,195-yard, par-71 Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind., a course that played much more difficult in the final round. The team average jumped from 292.6 shots in the second round to 300.53 shots in the third round.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) shot even-par 71 for the third consecutive round and finished in third place. Howe tallied 12 birdies and 12 bogies on his way to his first career top-5 finish. Howe made his collegiate debut last weekend at the Hartford Hawks Invitational, where he tied for seventh place. Michigan junior Nick Pumford, playing individually, earned medallist honors at three-under par after firing rounds of 70-73-67 (210).
Senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.) and sophomore Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) also shot even-par in the final round to help Penn State claim the title. Rohanna, a 2007 First-Team All-Big Ten selection, and Foley, the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, tied for 11th place at four-over par. Rohanna shot rounds of 72-74-71 (217), while Foley fired rounds of 76-70-71 (217).
Senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) finished in 22nd at seven-over par, posting scores of 73-74-73 (220). Sophomore Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) tied for 37th place at +12 after shooting rounds of 78-69-78 (225). His second-round score of 69 was the second best round of his collegiate career.
Penn State will look to build on its momentum next week at the VCU Shootout, where the Nittany Lions tied for first last year with Louisville. The 54-hole tournament will be held Oct. 1-2 at the Hermitage Country Club's Manakin Course in Richmond Virginia. Fifteen teams, 11 of which qualified for last year's NCAA Men's Golf Championship, will compete in the tournament, hosted by VCU.
For more information on the Penn State men's golf team, visit www.GoPSUSports.com.
Team R1 R2 R3 Total To Par1) Penn State 292 284 286 862 +102) Michigan 283 286 299 868 +163) Indiana 287 286 296 869 +174) Arkansas 295 292 294 881 +29T5) Kentucky 291 302 292 885 +33T5) Eastern Michigan 296 289 300 885 +337) Kent State 303 288 296 887 +358) Virginia 294 295 300 889 +379) Denver 294 287 309 890 +38T10) Toledo 303 296 297 896 +44T10) Ball State 303 291 302 896 +4412) Missouri 304 293 304 901 +4913) Northwestern 299 294 309 902 +5014) UNC Greensboro 297 300 307 904 +5215) IUPUI 308 306 317 931 +79
Penn State Players R1 R2 R3 Total To Par3) T.J. Howe 71 71 71 213 ET11) Robert Rohanna 72 74 71 217 +4T11) Kevin Foley 76 70 71 217 +422) Harvin Groft 73 74 73 220 +7T37) Jim Markovitz 78 69 78 225 +12