UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's golf team won its first tournament of the 2018-19 season with a 12-under team total 852 (278-287-287) and its three seniors finishing in the top 12 among individuals. Charles Huntzinger tied for sixth to lead the Nittany Lions with JD Hughes finishing in 11th and Ryan Dornes moving up six spots from Saturday to tie for 12th.
"Winning this tournament title had everything to do with a collective team effort right down to the wire," said Penn State men's golf coach Greg Nye. "We were in a really good frame of mind going into the final hole, and things turned out for the Nittany Lions. I'm awfully proud of the way we went about our business."
Dornes, and junior Ryan Davis (T23) each posted team-best scores of 71 in the final round Sunday. Dornes' 215 total (71-73-71) was his second best in his collegiate career with 10 total birdies and an eagle on the par-5 No. 9 hole in the first round. Davis had four birdies in Sunday's final round to match his four from round one.
Junior Alec Bard (T34), Davis, Dornes and Hughes each had a birdie in the final three holes of the competition Sunday to help keep the Nittany Lions in first place.
Host institution Duke (854), ranked 18th, trimmed six strokes off its second-round total (288-286-280) to make a run for the title, but the Blue Devils and No. 22 North Carolina (854) finished in a tie for second. Florida State (860), currently No. 25 in the nation, was fourth.
The Nittany Lions' success was anchored by a spectacular first-round team score of 278 and back-to-back 1-under team totals in the second and third rounds. Hughes tied his career-low with a 66 in the first round and Davis, Dornes and Huntzinger all shot under par to put Penn State at the top of the leaderboard.
Huntzinger matched his 70 on Saturday morning to help fend off a North Carolina threat in the second round.
Penn State totaled 55 birdies during the weekend, second only to North Carolina's 56. Hughes contributed 14 over three rounds with Huntzinger adding 13, five each coming in the final and first rounds.
John Pak of Florida State won the individual title with a 13-under 203, seven strokes better than Duke's Chandler Eaton, who fired a final-round best 67 Sunday.
Penn State will compete next at the VCU Janney Invitational Sept. 17-18 in Richmond, Va. The three-round tournament will take place on the Tuckahoe Creek course at the Country Club of Virginia.
Keep up to date with the latest information about the Nittany Lion Men's Golf team on Twitter at @PennStateMGolf and Facebook. Follow Coach Greg Nye on Instagram at @CoachNyePSU.
2018 Rod Myers Invitational Champions