Aug. 13, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State men's golf team has qualified four Nittany Lions to the US Amateur, the most in team history. Seniors Kevin Foley and T.J. Howe join junior Tommy McDonagh and incoming freshman Matt Porter to compete in the US Amateur.
The US Amateur's format consists of 36 holes of stroke play the first two days and match play among the 64 lowest scores. The top amateurs in the country will play Aug. 24-30 in Tulsa, Okla., at the Southern Hills and Cedar Ridge Country Club.
Foley's summer career has been busy and rewarding after taking first place at the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament, topping the best-ranked amateurs in the country. Foley has also been named a 2009 PING All-American, GCAA All-Regional team member as well as first-team All-Big Ten selection.
"This summer started with a history making achievement when Kevin became the first Penn Stater to win the Sunnehanna Amatuer, a major in the amatuer ranks," said head coach Greg Nye. "If you followed these guys this summer you could speculate that these guys had a good chance of qualifying for our national championship."
Joining Porter as a Nittany Lion newcomer is Ernesto Marin of Miami, Fla. who has also had an impressive summer leading up to his premier collegiate year. Marin has just returned back to the states after playing in Germany for Team USA.
90 participants were selected to play in the German Junior Masters under the World Junior Golf Series. Marin was selected by the PGA of America Selection Committee. Marin tied for 38th with an eight over-par finish, competing against amateurs from 15 different countries.
"Playing for my country is always an honor and to travels Overseas and play in Europe was beyond my expectations," said Marin.
Marin is currently at the Florida North/ South Ryder Cup.
The final summer tournaments will wrap up by the end of August and the Nittany Lions will begin their fall play. For schedule and roster updates please visit GoPSUsports.com.