April 25, 2008
EAST LANSING, MICH., April 25, 2008 - Seniors Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.), and Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.), who earned first team All-Big Ten honors last year, lead Penn State after the first two rounds of the Big Ten Men's Golf Championships Friday at Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich.
Groft and Rohanna both fired rounds of 76 and 77 to stand at 9-over par 153 and tied for 32nd place after two rounds on the par-72, 7,013-yard course. Penn State, which entered the Championship ranked No. 36 in the nation, struggled through the opening two rounds and stood 11th in the team race at 36-over par 612 after rounds of 299 and 313. Illinois led the team race at 5-over par 581 followed by Northwestern (8-over par 584) and host Michigan State (10-over par 586). The Championship features four squads ranked in the Top 50 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J), the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, fired rounds of 76 and 82 to stand at 14-over par 158 and tied for 49th place. Foley has battled illness most of the spring.
Sophomore T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.), who leads Penn State with a 73.25 stroke average and has five top 10 finishes on the year, continued his hot play firing a first round 71, including an eagle on the 322-yard, par-4 fourth hole, to stand tied for sixth after one round. However, Howe found trouble in the second round double-bogeying four of his first six holes and firing a nine-over par 45 on the front nine before going on to post a second round 88. He stands tied for 52nd at 15-over par 159 heading into the weekend.
Matt Leon (Brampton, Ontario), playing in his first Big Ten Championship since 2005, shot an opening round 83, but recovered to post a second round 77 for a two-round total of 16-over par 160 good for 54th place.
Competition continues with 18 holes Saturday and 18 on Sunday in the 89th Big Ten Championship, which covers 72 holes. Michigan State and Minnesota are the co-defending champions