May 15, 2017
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UNVERSITY PARK, PA - The Penn State men's golf team sits tied in sixth place after an opening round of 6-over 290 at the Washington NCAA Regional in Sammamish, Washington.
"We had four guys playing well through 10 or 11 holes," said head coach Greg Nye. "Then we scored very poorly at 11 and 12 as a team. Cole's play over the last three holes kept us in touch with the top end of the field."
Junior Cole Miller (New Tripoli, Pa.) shot 2-under to stand in a tie for sixth place after he led the field in par-4 scoring at minus-4, which included three straight birdies to end his round on holes 16, 17 and 18. Miller tied for second in birdies in the opening round with six.
Sophomore Charles Huntzinger (Duluth, Ga.) shot a 1-over 72 to finish in a tie for 21st after his first round of the tournament. Freshmen Alec Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Ryan Davis (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) shot 74 and 75 to sit in ties for 38th and 45th, respectively. Davis' par-5 score of 3-under was tied for the lowest in the field.
Sophomore JD Hughes (Carlisle, Pa.) shot an 8-over, 79 and sits in a tie for 67th heading into day two.
Florida State (-6), USC (-4), Alabama (-1), Kent State (+3) and Texas A&M (+3) are the top-five teams after the first 18 holes of the regional tournament. Penn State is tied with San Diego State in sixth place.
USC's Sean Crocker holds a three-stroke lead after his 7-under round one puts him ahead of Florida State's Josh Lee in second at 4-under. A trio of golfers sit in third at -3 under before Miller at 2-under.
Lions will begin teeing off at 12:00 p.m. ET paired alongside golfers from Marquette and Michigan
| Pos. | Team/Player (seed) | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Total | + / - |
| T6 | Penn State | 290 | 290 | +6 | ||
| T6 | Cole Miller(2) | 69 | 69 | -2 | ||
| T21 | Charles Huntzinger (1) | 72 | 72 | +1 | ||
| T38 | Alec Bard (4) | 74 | 74 | +3 | ||
| T45 | Ryan Davis (3) | 75 | 75 | +4 | ||
| T67 | JD Hughes (5) | 79 | 79 | +8 |
A LOOK AT THE COURSE
Built on the original site of the Boeing family farm, Aldarra offers a challenging par 71 layout that meanders through rolling terrain with stunning views of nearby Mount Si and the Cascade mountain range. Just minutes east of Seattle, Aldarra Golf Club is the only golf course in Washington designed by world renowned golf course designer Tom Fazio. The absence of homes on the golf course, along with the pristine condition of the golf course and a world class design make Aldarra a true golfers paradise.
NITTANY LION NOTES
- Penn State won four events in 2016-17 and finished in the top-5 in all but two. The Lions won three of four events to start the spring, capturing the Athletic Directors' Trophy against West Virginia, the Challenge at Champions against Michigan State and the 14-team Seminole Intercollegiate. They also won their home tournament, the Rutherford Intercollegiate, sharing the title with Georgetown.
- The Nittany Lions finished with two golfers in the top-6 and shot their lowest round of the Big Ten Championship to finish in a three-way tie for fourth with Iowa and Purdue in the 14-team field in Baltimore, Maryland April 28-30. Sophomore Charles Huntzinger shot his only subpar round in a 3-under 67 to finish at 2-under for the tournament after back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18. Huntzinger finished tied for 4th place with five birdies and two bogies on the day.
- Junior Cole Miller and sophomore Charles Huntzinger combined for five individual tournament titles out of the team's 10 events (not including match play).
- Junior Cole Miller and sophomore Charles Huntzinger are the only golfers on the current roster to take part in a NCAA Regional previously. Huntzinger and Miller were among the Top 30 individual finishers a year ago, coming in at Nos. 21 and 29, respectively. Huntzinger, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, had a 72 on the day and a three-round score of 216. Just one stroke behind, Miller had a personal tournament-best 71 Wednesday, ending with a 217. In 2015, then-freshman Miller finished even on par in the second and third rounds to finish in the No. 41 spot.
- A pair of Penn State golfers were recognized with Big Ten honors in a vote of the league's coaches. Sophomore Charles Huntzinger was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten honoree, while junior Cole Miller earned second-team honors and the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. One of three unanimous first-team selections, Huntzinger is the sixth First Team All-Big Ten honoree in Penn State's history and the first since 2010. He follows up a second-team nod as a freshman last season
- The Nittany Lion men's golf program is one of 18 Penn State programs to achieve an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 1,000 for the 2015-16 year, the NCAA announced recently. The program's multi-year APR score moved up seven points from a year ago.
- Cody Cox was acknowledged for having the team's highest GPA at Penn State's annual end-of-year awards ceremony -- The Nittanys. A senior from Milford, Pennsylvania, Cox graduated May 6 with a degree in Film & Video Production. Fellow senior Christian Elliott, a product of Port Perry, Ontario, also earned his degree in finance.