May 16, 2017
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UNVERSITY PARK, PA -The Penn State men's golf team sits alone in fourth place at 10-over heading after a 4-over round of 288 puts them at a score of 578 heading into the final round of the Washington Regional in Sammamish, Washington.
Junior Cole Miller (New Tripoli, Pa.) shot his second-straight 2-under round of 69 and sits tied for second place, while also leading the field in par-4 scoring at 4-under. Miller started his day with two birdies in his first three holes and finished the front-nine at 3-under. He birdied the par-3 18th hole to move back to 4-under overall with 18 holes remaining the regional.
Freshman Ryan Davis (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) is in a tie for 16th after a 2-under round places him at 2-over for the tournament. Davis birdied three of his first four holes and leads the field in par-5 scoring at 6-under over the last two days of action.
Sophomore Charles Huntzinger (Duluth, Ga.) shot a 4-over 75 and is tied for 33rd heading into the final day of play. After a 4-over round of 75, freshman Alec Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.) is tied for 40th. Bard's 26 pars rank tied for second amongst all golfers thus far.
Sophomore JD Hughes (Carlisle, Pa.) shot an 8-over 79 and is tied for 66th place.
USC (-5), Florida State (-2), Kent State (+1), Penn State (+10) and Alabama (+12) make up the top-five positions with Washington (+13) and Texas A&M (+15) in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Justin Suh of USC leads the individual leaderboard at 6-under with fellow Trojan Sean Crocker tied with Miller two strokes back at 4-under.
The low-five teams and low individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championships held May 26-29 in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
| Pos. | Team/Player (seed) | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Total | + / - |
| 5 | Penn State | 290 | 288 | 578 | +10 | |
| T2 | Cole Miller(2) | 69 | 69 | 138 | -4 | |
| T16 | Ryan Davis (3) | 75 | 69 | 144 | +2 | |
| T33 | Charles Huntzinger (1) | 72 | 75 | 147 | +5 | |
| T40 | Alec Bard (4) | 74 | 75 | 149 | +7 | |
| T66 | JD Hughes (5) | 79 | 79 | 158 | +16 |
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.