March 7, 2013
BLUFFTON, S.C. -
The Nittany Lion men's golf team earned the Colleton River Collegiate championship title Thursday at the Pete Dye Course, finishing the tournament with a team score of 916 (317-307-292), 11 strokes ahead of second place finishers Michigan and Michigan State.
Coach Greg Nye could not have been prouder of his team's performance.
"I give the guys so much credit for building a lead yesterday when we played in extreme cold and 35 mph sustained wind," Nye said. "They showed skill yes, but heart and toughness won the day. It was brutal out there."
Penn State dominated the top twenty individually. Freshman Chris Houston (Gilford, N.H.) not only led the Lions to their first place finish, but also tied for first overall with two Michigan State competitors: Matthew Moseley and Gareth Blease. Houston tallied an 60-77-71 across the three rounds of the tournament to finish with a 12-over-par 228.
Senior Jay Woodward (Bridgeport, W. Va.) finished only one stroke behind Houston placing fourth on the leader board, shooting a 78-77-74 throughout three rounds to post a 229 total. The duo of senior Anthony DeGol (Hollidaysburg, Pa) and sophomore Xander McDonald-Smith (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) shared the fifth place ranking, both posting a score of 231 after 54 holes of play.
Sophomore Jens Talbert (Little Rock, Ark.) rounded out the team total for the Nittany Lions, shooting three round score of 237 and tying for 14th on the leader board. Freshman Geoff Vartelas (Cromwell, Conn.) played as an individual and marked a 235 (85-76-75), which placed him tied for 12th overall.
"The closing round was as good a round as we have played in the laat couple years. Winning is tough to do and the guys came through big time," said Nye.
The Penn State men's golf team will resume their spring 2013 campaign March 23-24 when they head to Greensboro, Ga. for the Linger Longer Invitational.