Oct. 3, 2007
University Park, Pa. - With two consecutive tournament wins, the Penn State men's golf team has earned its highest national ranking in team history. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 6 by Golfstat and No. 18 by the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, the highest placement they've earned in either ranking.
Following a second place finish at the season-opening Hartford Hawks Invitational in mid-September, the Nittany Lions won the Wolf Run Intercollegiate and remained hot, capturing the team title at the VCU Shootout earlier this week.
At the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, Penn State posted scores of 292-284-286 for a three-round total of 862, leading the 15-team field at 10-over par. The Nittany Lions gained 13 strokes on Michigan in the final round to claim the title, as the Wolverines finished second at 16-over par (868). Tournament host and fellow Big Ten opponent Indiana took third at 17-over par (869).
Sophomore Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) led Penn State to a first-place finish at the VCU Shootout this week, earning medalist honors for the first time in his collegiate career and putting his mark in the Penn State record books.
Foley, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, shot rounds of 65-68-68 to win the tournament at 15-under par. His first round score of 65 - the lowest of his collegiate career - tied with five others for the second lowest round in Penn State history, two shots higher than Josh Dawes' 63 at the Princeton Invitational in 2002.
Ranked individually as No. 52 in the nation by the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, Foley recorded a 54-hole total of 201, the second lowest in school history.
At the VCU Shootout, Penn State recorded the fourth best three-round team total in school history at 845, posting rounds of 283-279-283. The Nittany Lions finished at 19-under par to capture the title, beating Wisconsin, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Wake Forest - all top-25 teams in both rankings - in the process.
Penn State is 37-1 overall this year, including a 4-0 record against top-25 opponents and an 8-0 mark against teams in the top 50.
The Nittany Lions are one of only four teams ranked in the top 25 to have won two tournaments thus far this season. They'll look to win their third-straight tournament at the Memphis Intercollegiate, held Oct. 8-9 at the Colonial Country Club's South Course in Cordova, Tenn.