COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Penn State men's golf team trimmed 20 strokes off its first-round team score for a 281 total in the second and final round of the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate Saturday. With a 582 total for the event (301-281=582), the Nittany Lions finished one stroke behind No. 40 Florida and eight strokes behind leader No. 45 Ohio State, tying with Rutgers for fourth place.
Rainy weather and wet conditions shortened Friday's competition to a single round and the Saturday forecast forced tournament officials to alter the event to two rounds with just one round Saturday.
For the Nittany Lions, it was their third-straight top-five finish at the Kepler Intercollegiate after taking third and fourth in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
"We came out and competed hard today," said Penn State men's head golf coach Greg Nye. "It was a super tough, cold, rain swept day yesterday (Friday), thus all scores were higher. Today there was very little wind and play was modified greatly to accommodate a very wet golf course."
Senior JD Hughes moved up four spots on Saturday to claim his sixth career top-five finish with a 2-under 69 and 1-over 143 (74-69=143) for the tournament.
"JD played steady and had another quality event, highlighted by driving it on the 18 green and holing a 45 foot putt for eagle,' Nye said.
Junior Alec Bard posted his best finish of the year as his 1-under 70 Saturday boosted him to into a tie for 17th with a 146 for his two rounds (76-70=146).
Coming in with a 1-under 70 in his second round of play, senior Ryan Dornes tied for 21st with teammate junior Ryan Davis. Davis carded a 1-over 72 Saturday and totaled 147 (75-72=147) for the event.
Senior Charles Huntzinger recorded a 3-over 74 Saturday and 150 (76-74=150) and finished in a tie for 33rd.
Penn State will compete next in the Big Ten Championships Friday-Sunday, April 26-28 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
For the latest updates on the team follow @PennStateMGolf on Twitter, "like" the Penn State Men's Golf page on Facebook, and follow head coach Greg Nye on Instagram @CoachNyePSU.
