Penn State, playing in its first tournament setting of the
spring campaign, was alone in sixth place following a double-round Monday in
the Colleton River Challenge at the Colleton River Club’s Pete Dye Course in
Bluffton, S.C.
The Nittany Lions, No. 60 in the latest Golfstat rankings, teed it up in the Big Ten Match Play and the
Challenge at Champions, a dual match against Michigan State at Champions Golf
Club in Houston, last month.
They struggled a little in the opening round Monday with a
9-over 297 over the 7,196-yard, par-72 Pete Dye Course layout. With senior JD
Hughes, a Carlisle product and winner of the 2017 Pennsylvania Amateur at White
Manor Country Club, firing a sparkling 5-under 67, in the afternoon round, Penn
State bounced back with a 2-under 286 in the second round for a 7-over 583
total.
No. 69 Michigan State is the host team for the Colleton
River Challenge and the Spartans grabbed the lead after two rounds at 13-under
563. Behind individual leader Donnie Trosper, a senior from Canton, Mich.,
Michigan State opened with a 6-under 282 and added a 7-under 281 in the
afternoon.
Iowa State, at No. 45 the highest-rated team in the field,
fired a sizzling 13-under 275 in the afternoon after opening with a 4-over 292
to storm into second place at 9-under 567, four shots behind Michigan State.
Maybe Iowa State doesn’t scream golf powerhouse to you, but
the Cyclones finished fourth in the Big 12 Championship last spring behind
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State – you know, the last two national champions – and
Texas. Then they surprised everybody, except maybe themselves, by finishing
third in the NCAA Stockton Regional.
No. 69 Memphis fired a solid 5-under 283 in the afternoon
after opening with a 4-over 292 and was alone in third place at 1-under 575.
Another Big Ten entry, No. 47 Iowa, carded a solid 2-under 286 after opening
with a 3-over 291 and was alone in fourth place at 1-over 577. The Hawkeyes
finished third in last spring’s Big Ten Championship, one spot ahead of Penn
State, which finished fourth.
No. 108 Kansas State, behind former New Hope-Solebury
standout Roland Massimino, posted a solid 6-under 282 in the afternoon after
opening up with a 10-over 298 and was alone in fifth at 4-over 580. Penn State
was next in sixth, three shots behind the Wildcats and 20 shots behind the
leader Michigan State.
Another Big Ten entry, No. 117 Rutgers, shared seventh place
with No. 52 Georgia Southern in the 14-team field, a shot behind Penn State at
8-over 584. The Red Knights matched par in the afternoon with a 288 after
opening with an 8-over 296 while Georgia Southern added a 3-over 291 to its
opening round of 5-over 293.
Trosper carded two rounds in the 60s, a 3-under 69 in the
morning and a 5-under 67 in the afternoon, for an 8-under 136 total that led
the way Michigan State. Trosper has a one-shot lead over Iowa State’s Lachlan
Barker, a sophomore from Australia who sparked the Cyclones’ second-round surge
with a 7-under 65 that matched the low round of the day. He had opened with an even-par
72 and finished at 7-under 137 for the day.
Backing up Trosper for the Spartans was James Piot, a
sophomore, also out of Canton, Mich., who had a pair of 2-under 70s and is tied
for fourth at 4-under 140.
Kaleb Johnson, a junior from Naples, Fla., was among the
group tied for 17th at even-par 144 after adding a 1-under 71 to his
opening-round 73. Andrew Walker, a junior from Battle Creek, Mich., gave the
Spartans a fourth player in the top 20 as he was among the group tied for 20th
at 1-over 145. Walker contributed a 2-under 70 to Michigan State’s fast start
before falling back with a 75 in the afternoon.
Rounding out the Michigan State lineup was Troy Taylor II, a
freshman from Westerville, Ohio who landed among the group tied for 47th at
6-over 150. Taylor struggled in the opening round with a 77, but his 1-over 73
in the afternoon was a counter for the Spartans.
Iowa’s Alex Schaake, a junior from Omaha, Neb., was a shot
behind Iowa State’s Barker in third at 6-under 138 after following up a 4-under
68 in the opening round with a 2-under 70 in the afternoon. Barker’s teammate,
Trip Kinney, a junior from Waukee, Iowa, landed in a tie for fourth with
Michigan State’s Piot at 4-under 140. Kinney added a 3-under 69 to his
opening-round 71.
Massimino, the 2014 PIAA Class AA runnerup as a senior at
New Hope-Solebury, and his Kansas State teammate, Jacob Ekland, a junior from
Carbondale, Ill., were two of the three players tied for sixth at 3-under 141.
Both players followed an opening round of 1-over 73 with a 4-under 68, fueling
the strong second-round showing for the Wildcats.
Rounding out the trio tied for sixth at 141 was Georgia
Southern’s Brett Barron, a junior from Suwanee, Ga. who added a 1-under 71 to
his opening round of 2-under 70.
Hughes, like the rest of his Penn State teammates, struggled
in the opening round with a 3-over 75. But he got it going in the afternoon
with his 5-under 67 that left him among the group tied for ninth at 2-under
142.
Ryan Davis, a junior from Berkeley Heights, NJ., added a
solid 1-under 71 in the afternoon to his opening-round 74 and is among the
group tied for 20th at 1-over 145.
Senior Ryan Dornes, the 2014 PIAA Class AAA runnerup at
Manheim Township, and Alec Bard, a junior from New Hartford, N.Y., both landed
among the group tied for 39th at 4-over 148. Dornes added a 75 to
his opening round of 1-over 73 and Bard did the opposite, carding a solid
1-over 73 in the afternoon after opening with a 75.
It was not a great day for Charles Huntzinger, a stalwart
senior from Duluth, Ga. who was in the group tied for 58th at 8-over
152 after adding a 75 to his opening-round 77.
Hughes wasn’t the only Penn State player in the group tied
for ninth at 2-under 142. James McHugh, a sophomore from Rye, N.Y. competing as
an individual, made a strong statement with a pair of 1-under 71s.
Hughes, Davis, Bard and Huntzinger were all in the lineup
two years ago when Penn State finished fifth in the NCAA Washington Regional
and advanced to the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms, so the experience
is there. A push from McHugh will only help Greg Nye’s Nittany Lions as they
continue their pursuit for an NCAA regional berth.
Not sure how the weather was in Bluffton Monday, but they
got in 36 holes, so it must have been at least decent. The Colleton River
Collegiate concludes with a single round Tuesday. The players might have to
break out the cold-weather gear.
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