May 31, 2008
West Lafayette, Ind. - Penn State sophomore Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) finished in a tie for 23rd place at the 111th NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships today in West Lafayette, Ind.
Foley paced a Penn State team that finished 25th in the Championships after earning just the program's third ever berth in the NCAA field in the modern era.
Foley made the cut for the final round after firing a 74 in the third round, that was interrupted by severe weather that resulted in the evacuation of the Kampen Course and suspension of play on Friday evening. Ranked No. 91 in the nation, Foley completed his third round this morning and then took the course later today in the final round, firing a score of 81 for a 72-hole total of 303 (+15, 75-73-74-81) good for a tie for 23rd place.
Kevin Chappell of UCLA shot a two-under score of 286 over the four rounds to claim medalist honors and lead the Bruins to the NCAA title. UCLA shot a score of 1,194, 42-over par, to edge Stanford by one stroke.
Penn State finished 25th in the field of 30, posting a third round total of 313. Penn State's 54-hole score of 62-over par 926 (315-298-313) did not make the cut of 15 teams that advanced to the championships' final round today on the Par-72, 7,450-yard course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.
The Nittany Lions, Illinois and Indiana were the only Big Ten squads to qualify for this weekend's NCAA Championships.
Senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.), a two-time All-Big Ten selection playing his final round for the Lions, fired a third round 76 and finished at 10-over par, 226 (76-74-76). Rohanna tried to mount a charge with four birdies on his back nine but three bogies and a double-bogey on the side dashed his chances of making the individual cut.
Senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) fired a third round 81 after struggling to a 42 on his first nine. He finished with a three-round total of 23-over par 239 (83-75-81).
Sophomore T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) shot a third round 82. He posted a three-round total of 26-over par 242 (84-76-82).
Sophomore Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) showed positive signs after his long layoff following a broken arm in the winter. After hanging in during the first two rounds, his first competition of the fall, he struggled in the third round with an 89. He finished with a three-round total of 33-over par 249 (81-79-89).