Sept. 18, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Penn State men's golf team heads to the Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois this weekend to participate in the Fighting Illini Invitational.
This weekend will mark the third edition of the tournament, and the first appearance by Penn State. The three-day, 54-hole field will include 15 competitive teams from across the country.
Teams include last year's Fighting Illini defending champion, Oklahoma State (currently ranked No. 2 by Golf World/Nike coaches poll), and 2006 champion Duke University (14). Other teams include UCLA (1), Stanford (5), Florida State (11), Arizona State (12), Indiana (20), Texas (24), Central Florida, Northwestern, Purdue, SMU, and Vanderbilt.
Teams will compete on the Olympia Fields North Course. The 7,157-yard, par-70 course was host of the 2003 US Open along with other key tournaments, including the 1968 Western Open where Jack Nicklaus took the title.
Play begins on Friday, September 19th and will continue through Sunday, September 21st. Tee times will begin at 8:00.m. from both the first and 10th tees. Match-ups will be assigned according to previous day rankings. In round one, Penn State will tee-off in groups of three with Stanford and UCF. Individual tee times will be assigned following Thursday's coaches meeting.
Penn State is entering the tournament after a two-week break from competitive play. Junior Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) and sophomore Tommy McDonagh (Wilton, Conn.) look to lead the Nittany Lions to a quick start Friday to secure good placement for the rest of the weekend.
Fans can keep up with team scores and individual player updates at Golfstat.com.