June 14, 2009
JOHNSTON, Pa. - Nittany Lion, Kevin Foley (Sommerville, N.J.) has been named the 56th champion of the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions after an impressive 72 holes of golf. Foley shot a 68 in the final round to secure the title and the lead by five strokes.
The four-day tournament belonged to the All-American start to finish with him topping the leaderboard after all four rounds. Foley drained 11 birdies in his opening round and tied the tournament record with a 61, nine-under par, his best round of his Lion Career. Foley carded scores of 61-68-70-68 (267) to finish at 13-under par.
"Kevin was rock solid all day in every facet of his game," said head coach Greg Nye.
The field included two-time Sunnehanna Champion Rick Fowler of California who finished in third and Brian Harmon of Savanna who finished in second. Harmon finished five-strokes back from Foley, carding an eight-under par tournament total while Fowler recorded a seven-under par total.
"He never let Brian Harman or Ricky Fowler (#1 ranked amatuer) get close even though they both played well. Kevin impressed all who had an opportunity to watch," said Nye.
"Our Walker Cup captain Buddy Marucci was in the field and got a good chance to look at Kevins game," said Nye. "Winning the Sunnehanna has significance, as it earns Kevin the second most points to wining the US Amatuer. We would certainly love to see Kevin earn a spot and represent the USA in this falls Walker Cup at the Merion Golf Club."
This is Foley's first, first-place finish of the summer and his third Amateur tournament title. Foley previously won the IKE (MGA) tournament in `08 and the IJGT Tour Championship in `06. In '09 he has been named first-team All-Big Ten, Ping All-American and Ping All-Region. Foley's latest achievement prior to Sunnehanna was his second place finish at the 2009 Big Ten men's golf Championships.
"This was definitely a big event for me," said Foley. "I played well in the toughest field and hopefully I keep it up for the rest of the summer. To be short and simple this was the best tournament I have ever played in. To play with the most elite, it feels good to sit on top."
Foley's next tournament will be at the 48th Northeast Amateur Invitational Tournament on June 24-27 at the Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island.