Kepler Intercollegiate Day One Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Graduate student Lou Olsakovsky shot his way into first place and the Penn State men's golf team sits third in a strong team race after the first day of Ohio State's Kepler Intercollegiate at the Columbus Country Club Saturday.
Penn State shot an 8-under, 280, in a strong opening round as all five members of the Nittany Lion lineup shot even or under par. The Nittany Lions finished the second round at 2-under, 286, and are 10-under, 566, heading into Sunday's third and final round.
No. 20 Illinois leads the 13-team field at 23-under, 553, while host and No. 35 Ohio State is second at 16-under, 560. The Nittany Lions have a one-stroke lead on the current fourth-place team, No. 47 Northwestern.
Olsakovsky had five birdies and an eagle en route to a career-low 66 in Saturday's opening round, the best single-round score in the entire 81-person field through the first two rounds. He followed that with a 3-under, 69, in the afternoon and heads into Sunday at 9-under, 135, with a two-stroke lead on a trio of golfers in second place, including a pair of student-athletes that rank in the top 30 in the nation.
Junior Jimmy Meyers propelled his way into a tie for 10th place through the first day thanks to a stellar second round that saw him shoot 3-under, 69, and a strong opening-round mark of 1-under, 71. He heads into Sunday's final round at 4-under, 140.
After an even 72 in the opening round, junior Patrick Sheehan carded a 1-over, 73, in the second and is tied for 26th at 1-over, 145.
Sophomore James Allen shot an even 72 in the first 18 and a 3-over, 75, in the second to sit tied for 41st at 3-over, 147. Freshman Jake Griffin fired a 1-under, 71, in the opening round and a 6-over, 78, in the second round. He is currently tied for 54th at 5-over, 149.
Playing as an individual, junior Ben Smith carded a 3-over, 75, in the first round, but bounced back with a 3-under, 69, in the afternoon to sit at an even 144 and in a tie for 22nd.
The Kepler Intercollegiate concludes Sunday with Penn State tee times beginning at 9:10 a.m. The Nittany Lions will play the final round with the first and second-place teams, Illinois and Ohio State. Live scoring will continue to be available on GolfStat.
