Player Leaderboard Final Round
May 16, 2009
Galloway, N.J. - After a valiant effort by the Nittany Lions and an 11-shot improvement from round two, the Nittany Lions finished in 10th place at the Northeast Regional. Penn State carded a six-over par third round and a 58-over par tournament total. The Nittany Lions rallied after a tough first round but were 20 shots shy of the top five teams who will be advancing to the NCAA Finals.
The Nittany Lions carded rounds of 319-301-290 (910), and improved their scores immensely each day of competition. The University of Alabama edged out Tennessee for the tournament title with rounds of 303-285-286 (874).
"We could have gone through the motions today being too far back, but pride, skill and grit showed up instead, scoring the second best total of the day," said head coach Greg Nye.
Ranked No. 20 in the nation, junior Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) played his best round of the weekend after shooting three birdies to finish at one-under par (70). The first-team All-Big Ten selection carded rounds of 82-71-70 (223), finishing at 10-over par. Foley was just 11 strokes back from the tournament champion, Hunter Hamrick of Alabama who finished at one-under par, jumping five spots on the day to take the title.
"With nearly all of our starters returning, we talked about playing well in the last two rounds and using the NCAA Regional stage in preparation for next year," said Nye. "I think we gained from our efforts over the final two rounds of this NCAA."
Junior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) wrapped up the tournament tied for 34th at 15-over par. Howe shot his best round in the final day with a 74, three strokes better than his previous two rounds. Howe carded rounds of 77-77-74 (228). Junior Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) continued to advance up the leaderboard as the tournament continued. His third round score of 72, pushed him to a 44th place finish and a 14 spot jump from his second round. Markovitz concluded at 17-over par with rounds of 81-77-72 (230).
Senior Chad Bricker (Waynesboro, Pa.) was among the Nittany Lions who showed their best round on the last day of competition. Bricker's 74, three-over par finish today put him tied for 50th with a three-day total of 82-77-74 (233). Freshman Nick Archambault (Q.C., Canada) sat in 56th place after the conclusion of 54 holes. Archambault finished at 23-over par with rounds of 79-76-81 (236).
"The challenge we faced this year was to replace two highly productive seniors with brand new guys, and remain competitive," said Nye. "A tall task but we were completive most of our events, winning at Pinehurst, and we did earn our way into the NCAA. A satisfying year."