May 2, 2010
Maple Plain, Minn. - The Penn State men's golf team finished in tenth place after posting rounds of 296-294-307-307, 1204 at the 2010 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships. No. 18 Illinois captured the conference title after leading the field in all four rounds posting a 21-over-par finish.
Competing at the Windsong Farm Golf Club in Maple Plain, Minn., the 11-team field battled heavy winds and steep competition throughout the four-round, three-day tournament.
Senior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) continued leading the Nittany Lions in the fourth round, finishing in 16th, posting rounds of 71-73-71-79, 294. Howe's 10-over-par performance sat him just 13-strokes back from first-place individual, David Lipsky of Northwestern. Lipsky posted rounds of 67-72-71-71, 281 (-3) to take home the conference title by a 2-stroke margin.
Senior Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) carded rounds of 74-71-75-76, 296 to finish tied for 22. Foley concluded the four-round tournament at 12-over-par. Junior Tommy McDonagh shot his best round of the tournament with a 74 in the fourth round, a 9-stroke improvement from his third round. McDonagh (East Norwalk, Conn.) finished at 26-over-par in the 48th position with rounds of 76-77-83-74, 310.
Senior Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) posted rounds of 78-76-78-78 to finish at 310. Freshman Ernesto Marin (Miami, Fla.) rounded out for the Nittany Lion line-up with rounds of 75-74-84-81, 314 to finish at 30-over-par in the 51st position.
"When we needed the energy this morning coming out of the blocks we were simply flat," said head coach Greg Nye. "In tough, cold, and windy conditions we needed to be more emotionally resilient after the start today."
The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 61 in the nation by Golfstat will look to pick up their 20th NCAA Regional bid in the last 21 years when the bids are announced May 10.
Big Ten Team Champion: Illinois
Big Ten Individual Champion: David Lipsky (Northwestern)
Big Ten Championships All-Tournament Team:
1. David Lipsky, Northwestern (281, -3)
2. Matt Thompson, Michigan (283, -1)
3. Barrett Kelpin, Iowa (284, E)
4. Luke Guthrie, Illinois (286, +2)
5. Jack Schultz, Michigan (287, +3)
Les Bolstad Big Ten Scoring Champion
Chris DeForest, Illinois