March 16, 2008
Pinehurst, N.C. - Senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) shot 2-over par 74 in the first round of the fourth annual Pinehurst Intercollegiate Sunday, sitting in a three-way tie for ninth place with two rounds to play. Coming off a 17th place finish at last weekend's Palmetto Intercollegiate, Groft carded 12 pars, one birdie and an eagle in his opening round.
Ranked No. 17 in the nation by Golfstat, Penn State shot 312 (+24) in the first round, finishing the day in 13th place. The Nittany Lions, who finished in third place at last year's Pinehurst Intercollegiate, sit 26 shots back from Day 1 leader and defending champion Indiana (-2) but are only nine shots back of second-place Ball State.
Nineteen teams are competing at the tournament, co-hosted by Indiana and East Carolina at the 7,035-yard, par-72 Centennial Pinehurst No. 8 golf course in Pinehurst, N.C. The course proved tough in the opening round with players shooting an average of 78.64.
Indiana's Seth Brandon leads all players at 3-under par, while teammates Ren Han (-2) and Jorge Campillo (-1) round out the top-3. Groft stands five shots behind Brandon.
Sophomores Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) and T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) both shot 79s in the first round, putting them in a tie for 51st place. Senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.) and junior Mitch Van Zelfden (Marietta, Ga.) fired 80s and are tied for 63rd.
The Nittany Lions will look to close the gap in the second round of the 54-hole tournament on Monday. The Lions tee-off at 8:45 a.m.
Team R1 To Par1) Indiana 286 -2T2) Ball State 303 +15T2) VCU 303 +154) Eastern Kentucky 304 +165) UNC-Greensboro 305 +176) UNC-Wilmington 306 +187) Western Carolina 307 +19T8) San Francisco 308 +20T8) Wisconsin 308 +2010) St. Mary's (Ca.) 309 +21T11) East Carolina 311 +23T11) Toledo 311 +2313) Penn State 312 +2414) Marquette 314 +2615) Marshall 315 +27T16) Miami (Ohio) 316 +28T16) Hartford 316 +2818) Western Illinois 322 +3419) IUPUI 333 +45
Penn State Players R1 To ParT9) Harvin Groft 74 +2T51) Kevin Foley 79 +7T51) T.J. Howe 79 +7T63) Robert Rohanna 80 +8T63) Mitch Van Zelfden 80 +8