Oct. 9, 2007
Memphis, Tenn. - For only the fourth time in Penn State men's golf history, a Nittany Lion golfer has won back-to-back individual titles.
After winning his first collegiate tournament last week at the VCU Shootout, sophomore Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) held on to win the Memphis Intercollegiate Tuesday by one shot, becoming the first Penn State golfer to win consecutive tournaments since Andy Latowski in 2001.
"It was as if I was watching the same golfer I watched play remarkably last week in Virginia," said head coach Greg Nye. "His consistency was outstanding, and he played brilliantly."
Foley, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, shot a 65 in the first round - tied for the second lowest round in Penn State history - and held a two-shot lead over Mississippi's Jess Speirs with one round to go.
While Foley bogeyed four of the final five holes and shot 73 in the final round, Speirs couldn't overcome the two shot deficit, shooting even-par 72 to finish in second place.
"Yesterday I played really well and put myself in position to finish well," said Foley, who led the 87-player field with 12 birdies. "I only won by a shot, so this win was a little bit harder than last week. It wasn't the way I wanted to finish, but I got the job done. It still feels good to come out on top."
Following consecutive wins at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate and VCU Shootout, Penn State, Golfweek's Team of the Week, shot 284 in the first round and was in second place with one round to go.
The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 6 by Golfstat and No. 18 by the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, shot 300 in the final round and fell to fourth place in the standings.
"This was our fourth tournament in a row," Nye said. "Playing in that many tournaments, it's hard to hang on to the energy level. I thought our guys played courageously. We were at a significant disadvantage, playing in conditions we weren't familiar with, but we persevered and finished well."
Mississippi won the tournament at four-under par (572) after posting scores of 280 and 292. Southern Mississippi (580) took second and host Memphis (583) finished third.
Penn State was one of 15 teams 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 on Monday, midway through the second round. Tournament officials and coaches agreed to drop the third round, deciding to finish the second round on Tuesday.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) tied for 18th place at three-over par (147) after firing rounds of 72 and 75. Howe was one of only four players in the tournament to card an eagle, and he recorded 27 pars, tied for third among all players.
Senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) shot rounds of 74 and 75, tying for 30th place at five-over par (149). Fellow senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.) tied for 34th place at six-over par (150) after posting scores of 73 and 77.
Sophomore Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.), who recorded six birdies in the tournament, shot rounds of 76 and 78, tying for 56th place at +10 (154).
The Nittany Lions will take a four-week break, playing their final tournament of the fall season at the Wolverine at Mission Inn on Nov. 5-6. The tournament, hosted by Michigan, will be played at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort's El Campeon in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
"It will be good to rest," Foley said. "We've been going at it for a month straight. It gets pretty stressful and does a lot of work on the body. We'll continue to work hard and hope to end our fall season on a good note."
Team R1 R2 Total To Par1) Mississippi 280 292 572 -42) Southern Mississippi 298 282 580 +43) Memphis 296 287 583 +74) Penn State 284 300 584 +8T5) Wisconsin 294 297 591 +15T5) Mississippi State 302 289 591 +157) Xavier 298 297 595 +198) South Alabama 296 302 598 +229) Arkansas State 312 287 599 +2310) Rice 305 299 604 +2811) Louisiana-Lafayette 300 308 608 +3212) South Florida 312 298 610 +3413) Nebraska 304 307 611 +35T14) Tulsa 311 301 612 +36T14) Southeastern La. 305 307 612 +36
Penn State Players R1 R2 Total To Par1) Kevin Foley 65 73 138 -6T18) T.J. Howe 72 75 147 +3T30) Harvin Groft 74 75 149 +5T34) Robert Rohanna 73 77 150 +6T56) Jim Markovitz 76 78 154 +10