April 19, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN. - The Nittany Lions wrapped up the final round of the Boilermaker Invitational this afternoon falling just one spot to finish in second place atop nationally ranked teams. Penn State posted rounds of 288-281-287 (856) to end at eight-under par just one stroke behind No. 14 Illinois, the tournament champions.
Guiding the Nittany Lions throughout the weekend was junior Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) who played exceptional golf to tie for first place in the tournament with Wisconsin's Dan Woltman. Foley concluded the tournament with rounds of 69-66-72 (207) to end at nine-under par. Foley's last tournament title was at the Lehigh Invitational in the fall of this year. This is Foley's fourth, first place finish of his Lion career.
"It feels really good," said Foley. "I was able to get redemption from last week which was a great feeling. The course played much easier than NCAA regionals which helped. I fumbled a little towards the end of my last round but as a team we played well. We could have won that tournament so we are going to take the positive out of it and get ready for Big Ten's."
Junior Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) finished tied for seventh after jumping one spot from the previous round. Markovitz shot par in the final round to card 73-70-72 in the 54-hole tournament. Senior Chad Bricker (Waynesboro, Pa.) improved the most out of the Lions after jumping 14 spots and bettering his score by five strokes. Bricker finished tied for 16th at two-over par, carding rounds of 73-75-70 (218).
Freshmen Nick Archambault (Q.C., Canada) played steady golf after posting rounds of 76-70-73 (219), finishing at three-over par, tying for 23rd. Junior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) finished tying for 43rd at eight-over par with rounds of 73-75-76 (224). "For a team with everything on the line and playing for a bid to our big dance, the NCAA, these guys came together in a big way this weekend," said head coach Greg Nye. "I was very impressed with guts and extremely proud of the whole team."
All Big Ten teams will have two weeks to prepare for the 2009 men's golf Big Ten Championships, which are held at Penn State's Blue Course in State College, Pa. For more information regarding the tournament please visit goPSUsports.com for updates and course information.