Oct. 15, 2007
Golfweek/Sagarin Individual Rankings
Golfweek/Sagarin Team Rankings
Golfstat Team Rankings
University Park, Pa. - The Penn State men's golf team continues to climb in the national golf rankings and now, for the first time in team history, an individual is ranked in the top 20.
That individual is sophomore stud Kevin Foley, who's won the past two tournaments the Nittany Lions have competed in and is ranked 17th in the nation by the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.
"Kevin is one of many great golfers we've had at Penn State," said head coach Greg Nye. "I stand in admiration of what he's been able to achieve so far, and I look forward to what he'll bring the rest of the season."
Following a fourth place finish at last week's Memphis Intercollegiate, Penn State climbed to No. 14 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, but fell to No. 11 in the Golfstat rankings.
"It caught me by surprise that we were fortunate enough to have things fall into place and to play as well as we did four weeks in a row," Nye said. "But, we went out and got the job done."
Previously ranked 51st in the nation, Foley became just the fourth Nittany Lion golfer to win back-to-back titles in team history after earning medalist honors at the VCU Shootout and the Memphis Intercollegiate.
Foley, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection, began both tournaments with an opening-round 65 - his collegiate career low and tied for the second lowest one-round score in team history.
"I've been playing well so far this season, and I'm ecstatic about it," said Foley, who holds a 70.91 stroke average this season. "Rankings are rankings, and they aren't the only thing I'm worried about. I'm just going to try to keep playing well."
At the VCU Shootout, the Somerville, N.J. native shot 15-under par to win his first collegiate tournament. Foley posted scores of 65-68-68, beating the runner-up by five strokes and recording the second lowest 54-hole total in Penn State men's golf history at 201.
Foley's low scores and the consistency of Penn State's other four starters have helped the Nittany Lions capture two straight team titles this fall - the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in late September and the VCU Shootout the following week.
Coming off a second-place finish at the season-opening Hartford Hawks Invitational, the Nittany Lions posted rounds of 292-284-286 (862, +10) to win the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, beating second-place Michigan by six shots and giving Penn State its first win of the season.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.), making just his second collegiate start, placed third at the tournament after shooting 71s in all three rounds.
The next week, Penn State recorded the fourth best 54-hole team total in team history (845) on its way to winning the VCU Shootout. The Nittany Lions posted scores of 283-279-283 and clinched its second-consecutive win.
Penn State is now 5-0 against top-25 teams, 11-2 against top-50 teams and 48-4 against teams ranked in the top 100. The Nittany Lions are the top-ranked Big Ten team, one spot ahead of Michigan State.
"Everybody on the team is excited that we're doing this well and have gotten our ranking all the way up to where it is," Foley said. "People probably don't expect Penn State to be ranked that high, but we've earned our spot and want to be one of the teams in the nation that people pay attention to."
Penn State concludes its fall season on Nov. 5-6 at the Wolverine at Mission Inn, held at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort's El Campeon in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.