April 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The Penn State men's golf team won the 39th annual Rutherford Intercollegiate by an eight-stroke margin Sunday afternoon after posting a 296-276-296 (868) on the Blue Course. Four Nittany Lions finished in the top top ten of the 75-player field.
Senior Jens Talbert (Little Rock, Ark.) led the team in his final home tournament appearance by shooting a 1-over 214 total through 54 holes. Talbert placed third, marking the highest Rutherford finish of his career.
Fellow senior JD Dornes (Lancaster, Pa.) finished seventh overall after carding a 74 in the final round to bring his score to a 217.
The pair of sophomores Cody Cox (Milford, Pa.) and Christian Elliott (Port Perry, Ontario) both shot 221 strokes for the Nittany Lions and finished tied for 12th. Freshman Cole Miller (New Tripoli, Pa.) notched a 222 in his home tournament debut and placed tied-for-16th overall to round out the starting lineup.
Senior Xander McDonald-Smith (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) posted a 70 on day two to total a 218 as an individual. A stroke behind McDonald-Smith was freshman individual Josh Rinehart (York, Pa.), who shot a 71 to bring his three-round score to a 219. McDonald-Smith and Rinehart finished eighth and tied-for-9th on the leaderboard, respectively.
Junior Geoff Vartelas (Cromwell, Conn.) recorded a 224 (74-76-74 )after day two while senior Shane Stewart (Dublin, Ohio) finished his final Rutherford Intercollegiate with a 231 total.
The men's golf team will close out its 2014-15 campaign at the three-day Big Ten Championship in Evansville, Ind. beginning on April 24.