March 18, 2008
Pinehurst, N.C. - By improving their score in each round, the Penn State men's golf team climbed from 13th place after Day 1 to a third place finish Tuesday at the fourth annual Pinehurst Intercollegiate. It was the second straight third-place finish for the Nittany Lions at the tournament.
Penn State shot rounds of 312-294-289 (895), finishing in third at +31. Ranked No. 17 in the nation by Golfstat, the Nittany Lions finished 30 shots back of winner and defending champion Indiana. The Hoosiers, ranked No. 26 by Golfstat, shot rounds of 286-292-287 (865), topping second-place Eastern Kentucky (889) by 24 shots.
Senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) led Penn State with a ninth-place finish at 6-over par, recording his third top-10 finish of the year after shooting rounds of 74-75-73 (222). It was Groft's second-best finish of his collegiate career, second to his seventh-place tie at the Wolverine at Mission Inn in the fall.
Indiana's Seth Brandon earned medallist honors for the second time in his collegiate career, finishing at even-par after shooting rounds of 69-75-72 (216). Brandon led the field after all three rounds, holding on to win the tournament by one shot over three players who tied for second at 1-over par.
Nineteen teams competed in 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.
Penn State senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.) and sophomore Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.), both All-Big Ten selections last year, finished in a four-way tie for 19th place at 8-over par. Rohanna carded rounds of 80-75-69 (224), jumping 29 spots in the individual standings after shooting 3-under par in the final round, tied for the second-lowest round of the day. Foley shot rounds of 79-69-76 (224).
Like Rohanna, sophomore T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) and junior Mitch Van Zelfden (Marietta, Ga.) both improved their scores in each round. Howe fired rounds of 79-75-71 (225) and tied for 23rd at 9-over par, while Van Zelfden tied for 69th at +18, shooting rounds of 80-78-76 (234).
Penn State takes a two-and-a-half-week break before heading to Huntingdon, W.Va., for the Marshall Invitational, where the Nittany Lions will look to repeat as champions after a dominating performance last year.
Team R1 R2 R3 Total To Par1) Indiana 286 292 287 865 +12) Eastern Kentucky 304 298 287 889 +253) Penn State 312 294 289 895 +314) UNC-Greensboro 305 305 287 897 +335) VCU 303 300 295 898 +346) Wisconsin 308 304 292 904 +40T7) Ball State 303 304 299 906 +42T7) East Carolina 311 303 292 906 +429) St. Mary's (Ca.) 309 307 291 907 +43T10) Western Carolina 307 299 302 908 +44T10) Marquette 314 304 290 908 +4412) San Francisco 308 301 302 911 +4713) Toledo 311 307 300 918 +5414) Miami (Ohio) 316 305 299 920 +5615) Hartford 316 306 303 925 +6116) UNC-Wilmington 306 311 311 928 +6417) Western Illinois 322 308 306 936 +7218) Marshall 315 320 308 943 +7919) IUPUI 333 317 306 956 +92
Penn State Players R1 R2 R3 Total To Par9) Harvin Groft 74 75 73 222 +6T19) Robert Rohanna 80 75 69 224 +8T19) Kevin Foley 79 69 76 224 +8T23) T.J. Howe 79 75 71 225 +9T69) Mitch Van Zelfden 80 78 76 234 +18