Sept. 19, 2008
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill.- - Olympia Fields, Ill., Sept. 19, 2008- The Penn State men's golf team finished tied for first after the opening round of the Olympia Fields/ Fighting Illini Invitational. Penn State shot an eight-over par (288).
Penn State finished the first round tied with Indiana and Illinois, marking three Big 10 schools at the top of the leader board.
"We know Indiana and Illinois well," said head coach Greg Nye. "They are Penn State's cousins and two great teams. Tomorrow will be another close day of golf."
Junior Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) and sophomore Tommy McDonagh (Wilton, Conn.) fired opening rounds of one-under par, tying for third. They follow Stanford University's Joseph Bramlett and Indiana's Alex Martin, both at two-under par (68), tied for first.
"Both Kevin and Tommy had amazing rounds," said Nye. "I am very pleased with their performances."
Freshman Nick Archambault (St-Jean-Sur-Rich, Q.C., Canada), the newest member of the Nittany Lions' starting five, performed to high standards, finishing tied for 14th at two-over par (72). The Fighting Illini Invitational marks Archambault's first appearance at a collegiate tournament.
"Nick played impressive golf today," said Nye. "For his first start in a collegiate tournament of this caliber on a US Open course, he played outstanding."
Junior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) finished at 10- over (80), while senior Matt Leon (Brampton, Ontario) finished at eight- over (78).
Round two tee-times will be assigned at Golfstat.com and will follow in order of team and first-round rankings. The first tee-time will begin at 8:00 a.m.