March 15, 2009
Pinehurst, N.C.- - After an impressive first round in wet and cold conditions, the Penn State men's golf team sits tied for first place at the fifth annual Pinehurst Intercollegiate.
With eight out of the 20 teams unable to finish due to harsh weather conditions, the complete standings will not be finished until tomorrow, before round two begins.
In first place after 18 holes, the Nittany Lions finished at a two-over par (290) tying the team from Virginia Tech. If standings stay how they are now Penn State has three representatives in the top 20 and one in the top 10.
Sophomore Tommy McDonagh (Wilton, Conn.) dominated the playing field and finished in first place tying his all-time low, 69, a three-under par. McDonagh began on the 10th tee and birdied the 13th, 14th, first and second holes.
"I thought Tommy played really well out there", said head coach Greg Nye. "I think that he had a good week of preparation at Sea Island."
Junior Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) .and Junior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) are tied for 17th with one-over par, 73. Freshmen Nick Archambault (St-Jean-Sur-Rich, Q.C.) tied for 39th at three-over par, 75 and Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) is tied for 102 at 11-over par, 83.
"I am really pleased with how everyone played today in these types of conditions," said Nye. "We started well today and finished well and hopefully we can carry some things over into our second and third rounds."