Oct. 8, 2007
Click here for live scoring of the Memphis Intercollegiate
Memphis, Tenn. - It seems that 65 is the magic number. At least for Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) it is.
For the second straight week, the Penn State sophomore shot 65 in the opening round of a tournament, putting him in contention to win medalist honors once again.
Foley recorded a tournament-best eight birdies and one bogey on his way to taking a two shot lead over Mississippi's Jess Speirs. His first-round score of 65 is tied for the second lowest round in Penn State history.
"I did the same things as last week," said Foley, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year. "I hit the ball really well and managed to put myself in position to make birdies. I capitalized on that and shot another low score."
At last week's VCU Shootout, Foley shot rounds of 65-68-68 (210) to win his first collegiate tournament at 15-under par.
"Last week's win helped my confidence a lot coming into this week," Foley said. "I know I'm on my game and can put myself in position to be up at the top every week."
Fifteen teams, consisting of 87 players, are competing at the 4th annual Memphis Intercollegiate, held at Colonial Country Club's South Course, a 7,334-yard, par-72 course in Memphis, Tenn.
The tournament was originally scheduled for 54 holes, but thunderstorms stopped play midway through the second round, postponing play until Tuesday. Tournament officials and coaches met and agreed to cancel the third round.
Through the first nine holes of his second round, Foley had lengthened his lead to four shots over Speirs, standing at nine-under par.
Fresh off two straight wins at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate and VCU Shootout, the Nittany Lions, ranked No. 6 by Golfstat and No. 18 by the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, shot 284 (-4) in the first round, sitting in second place behind Mississippi (280, -8).
With most teams having completed nine holes of their second round, Mississippi remains atop the leaderboard at nine-under par. Penn State, Golfweek's Team of the Week, is tied for second at two-over par with Southern Mississippi and host Memphis.
"As a team, we would want to play the final round," Foley said. "We're going to have to fight the final eight or nine holes and give everything we've got to try and win the tournament."
Redshirt freshman T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) shot even-par 72 and is tied for 10th place. Howe, looking for his third top-10 finish this season, recorded an eagle on the 573-yard, par-5 16th hole.
Senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.) is tied for 14th place at one-over par (73) while fellow senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) sits in a tie for 18th place at two-over par (74).
Sophomore Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) is tied for 37th place at four-over par (76).
The second round concludes Tuesday, with golfers teeing off at 9 a.m.
Team R1 To Par1) Mississippi 280 -82) Penn State 284 -43) Wisconsin 294 +6T4) Memphis 296 +8T4) South Alabama 296 +8T6) Southern Mississippi 298 +10T6) Xavier 298 +108) Louisiana-Lafayette 300 +129) Mississippi State 302 +1410) Nebraska 304 +16T11) Southeastern La. 305 +17T11) Rice 305 +1713) Tulsa 311 +23T14) South Florida 312 +24T14) Arkansas State 312 +24
Penn State Players R1 To Par1) Kevin Foley 65 -7T10) T.J. Howe 72 ET14) Robert Rohanna 73 +1T18) Harvin Groft 74 +2T37) Jim Markovitz 76 +4