June 15, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Penn State men's golfers T.J. Howe and Kevin Foley will tee off Thursday in the 116th U.S. Open, taking place June 16-19 at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh. Each making their first appearance in the tournament, they are first to represent the Nittany Lions at the Open since Jason Tyska in 1999.
Howe tees off at 2:42 p.m. Thursday and 8:57 a.m. Friday, while Foley begins play at 8:46 a.m. in the first round and 2:31 p.m. in the second. Howe starts his round on the first hole and Foley starts on the 10th Thursday, with reverse starting holes Friday.
The first and second rounds will be broadcast on FoxSports1 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday with the third and final rounds moving to network coverage on Fox beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
"It is an absolute thrill for all the people that know our program here at Penn State to see both Kevin and T.J. competing in the U.S. Open," Greg Nye, Penn State head coach, said. " "Having two Nittany Lions qualify into the U.S. Open is special in its own right, but having them both do it in a year where it's played in Pennsylvania makes it even more exciting."
The pair of 2010 Penn State graduate both qualified for their first U.S. Open through local and subsequent sectional qualifying.
Howe, who played Penn State from 2007-11, shot a seven-under par 137 to place second at the Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Washington. Originally from Osceola, Pennsylvania, Howe won the U.S. Open local qualifier May 19 at the Huntsville Golf Club in Dallas, Pennsylvania.
Howe, who resides in Charlotte, is playing on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada this summer. He played in the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship last year, has qualified for several PGA Web.com Tour events and was among the top money winners on the eGolf Tour the past two years
As a Nittany Lion, Howe was a 2010 Golf Coaches Association of America All-American, a three-time GCAA All-Region selection and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Foley was added to the U.S. Open field Monday as an alternate from the Summit, New Jersey sectional at Canoe Brook Country Club. He shot a 5-under par, missing the cut by one stroke, but was notified Sunday night he would be added to the U.S. Open field as the first alternate.
A native of Somerville, New Jersey, he won the 2013 Panama Claro Championship on the Web.com Tour. He played in the Web.com tour in 2012-14, earning his PGA Tour status in 2014-15.
Foley was a three-time All-American at Penn State and one of four Nittany Lions to be named to the All-Region team each year of his career. He earned the 2006-07 Big Ten Freshman of the year honor and is the program's only three-time All-Big Ten selection. Foley also holds the PSU record for most tournament championships with six, while earning 16 top-10 finishes and 20 top-25 finishes during his four years in University Park.