May 2, 2014
FRENCH LICK, Ind. - The Penn State men's golf team fired a 307 and 300 in rounds one and two, respectively, to tally a 607 in day one of the Big Ten Championships at the Pete Dye Course. The Nittany Lions will enter round three Saturday in eighth place.
Junior Jens Talbert (Little Rock, Ark.) is pacing the Blue and White, sitting tied-for-12th overall. Talbert marked a 5-over 149 (75-74) in his second conference championship appearance.
Sophomores Chris Houston (Gilford, N.H.) and Geoff Vartelas (Cromwell, Conn.) and junior JD Dornes (Lancaster, Pa.) all posted a 154 two-round total to notch tied-for-34th rankings.
Junior Xander McDonald-Smith (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) is one stroke behind Houston, Vartelas and Dornes in his third consecutive Big Ten Championship performance for Penn State. McDonald-Smith shot a 79 in the opening round followed by a 76 in round two to tie for 43rd at the conclusion of day one of play.
Purdue holds a one stroke lead over Minnesota and defending champion Illinois, tallying a 594 36-hole team score. Minnesota's Jose Mendez posted a 1-under 143 to earn the first place ranking going into round three. Mendez is coming off a Rutherford Intercollegiate championship, where he fired a career-low single-round score of 65.
Penn State will tee off Saturday starting at 10:20 a.m. for round three. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstatresult.com.