March 17, 2009
Pinehurst, N.C. - With the best final team score in the third and final round, the Penn State men's golf team finished as the Pinehurst Intercollegiate Tournament Champions. The Nittany Lions toped the leader board after bettering their second round score by 14 strokes, shooting nine-under par on the day. The Lions concluded the tournament at two-under par, (862) beating nationally ranked opponents No. 34 Michigan State by 15 strokes and No. 36 Michigan by 29 strokes.
Penn State re-wrote the record books at Pinehurst crushing two previous team records. Penn State now has the low 54-hole team total record with 852, beating out last year's Indiana team total of 855. The Nittany Lions also have the low final round score 279 breaking the previous record of 287 made by Xavier, Indiana, Eastern Kentucky and UNC- Greensboro.
The first place finish records as Penn State's best performance at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate and marks the 56th tournament title under head coach Greg Nye. The team posted 290-293-279 in the three-day competition.
"It was an exciting match to watch. Virginia Tech made a run at us in the last 12 holes going -14, but we came back at them in the last two holes to finish it off."
Junior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) played exceptional golf all day to secure his position as the 2009 Pinehurst individual champion. This was Howe's first collegiate win and fifth time leading the Lions. His third round score of 67 beat his career-best by two strokes. The five-under par performance jumped Howe from fifth place into first place, to finish three strokes ahead of second place finisher Drew Weaver of Virginia Tech at seven-under par (209).
T.J. Howe, individual champion |
Howe's performance of 209 set the individual championship score record by one stroke, previously made by former US Amateur Champion Colt Knost of SMU. Knost has also been a member of the PGA Tour since 2007. Howe's final round score, 67, ties the low round and low final round record set by Indiana's Scott Seibert.
"As told to me by the Michigan State coach, `T.J. had nearly a flawless round of golf' it was like he didn't have to try to make par," said Nye.
Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) shot a one-under par final round, two strokes better than rounds one and two. Foley's tournament scores of 73-73-71 jumped him ten spots, finishing in a three-way tie for eighth place (217). Sophomore Tommy McDonagh (Wilton, Conn.) finished in an eight-way tie for 14th place with rounds of 69-79-71, three-over par 219.
Bridgeville, Pa. native Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) shot a two-under par third round to catapult him 31 places from 75th to 44th. Markovitz went 83-72-70 in the tournament, finishing at plus nine (225). Freshmen Nick Archambault (Quebec, Canada) finished in a four-way tie for 73rd with a three-stroke improvement on the day. Archambault posted 75-79-76 (230) to end at +14.
"Our top four scores for the day were all under par and these guys played an unbelievable match in the cold and rain," said Nye. "It is one terrific statement that we made out here today. It was very exciting and the guys played exceptional in the clutch."
Penn State takes nearly four weeks off before heading to Columbus, Ohio for the Kepler Invitational, where the Nittany Lions will look to continue their exceptional play against another tough field.