Villanova has fine finish at Wildcat Invitational

   There were a couple of paragraphs in the Daily Times on a solid showing by the Villanova golf team at its Wildcat Invitational Monday and Tuesday at White Manor Country Club, but I thought it was worth an expanded look on T Mac Tees Off.

As was noted in the college roundup in the Thursday Daily Times, a couple of the Villanova mainstays, junior Steve Skurla and senior Brian Colbert, had really nice showings.

   The tournament began with 36 holes Monday and windy conditions, especially early in the day Monday, made it tough on all the players.

Skurla followed an opening-round 77 with a spectacular 4-under 67 over the 7,055-yard, par-71 White Manor layout. Skurla’s final-round 76 gave him a 7-over 220 total that left him in a tie for third in the 78-player field. It was his second top-10 finsih of the season.

Colbert was steady with rounds of 78, 75 and 72 for a 12-over 225 total that left him a tie for sixth.

   As a team, the Wildcats recovered from a rough start — they posted a 313 total in the blustery winds — to put up 297 and 292 totals in the final two rounds. Their 902 total left them in fourth place in the 14-team field.

   Ohio State, led by individual champion Matthew Turner (1-under 212), claimed the team title with an 891 total.

   "White Manor is an outstanding facility to host a tournament at and we were excited to have such a successful event for the second straight year," Villanova head coach James Wilkes said on Villanova’s website. "We had a great field this year and that was represented by a strong champion in Ohio State.

   "We were especially proud of our guys after falling behind through one round (Monday), yet they continued to fight and make quality shots on a tough course to climb all the way up to fourth in the standings. We feel very good about the way we finished this tournament moving into our final two events of the season."

   Junior Michael Kania, the two-time All-Delco and two-time Inter-Ac League champion at Haverford School, bounced back from an uncharacteristic opening round of 88 with rounds of 78 and 72. He finished in a tie for 47th at 25-over 238 and was the last of Villanova’s five scorers.

   Senior Bret McGaughey (79-77-72—228) finished in a tie for 16th and sophomore Robby Meador (79-80-77—236) was in a tie for 39th.

   One of the advantages of hosting an event is the opportunity for more of your players to tee it up and three other Villanova players competed as individuals at White Manor.

   Junior Derek Jones (81-80-75) matched Meador’s 236 total and finished in a tie for 39th, junior Jimmy Johnston (82-79-77), a Malvern Prep product, matched Kania’s 238 total and finished ina tie for 47th and sophomore Vince Boyle (81-80-80), an Archbishop Ryan product, finished at 241 and in a tie for 54th.

   Villanova will next tee it up in the Navy Spring Invitational April 21-22 as the season builds to its crescendo, the Big East Tournament April 28-30 in Orlando, Fla.

Kan, Purdue finish sixth in Georgia

   Aurora Kan, the three-time Daily Times Player of the Year at Chichester, continues to be a solid contributor as a true freshman on the Purdue golf team.

   Kan, the 2010 Pennsylvania women's amateur and PIAA champion, had rounds of 77, 80 and 78 to finish in a tie for 78th with a 19-over 235 total over the University of Georgia Golf Course to help Purdue finish sixth in the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic, which concluded Sunday.

   The Boilermakers were led by junior Laura Gonzalez-Escallion, who put together brilliant rounds of 70, 69 and 71 to finish at 6-under 210. She was alone in second place, a shot back of individual champ Jennifer Kirby (66-72-71—209) of Alabama.

   Junior Kishi Sinha, a native of India, finished in a tie for 18th with rounds of 72, 73 and 73 and a 2-over 218 total.

   A strong middle round of 289 vaulted Purdue into a tie for fourth place, but the Boilermakers fell back with a final-round 296 to drop back to sixth at 878.

   Purdue entered the prestigious event ranked 33rd in the country, but finished ahead of several higher-ranked teams, including No. 7 Auburn, which was a shot back of Purdue in seventh, No. 23 Michigan St. (eighth), No. 25 Florida St. (13th) and No. 26 Oklahoma (11th).

   The Boilermakers will compete in their final tournament before the Big Ten Tournament when they tee it up at the Knights and Pirates Invitational next week in Melbourne, Fla.

It’s Masters time

Enjoy what is any golf fan’s favorite weeks of the year as The Masters tees off today at Augusta National.

It’s just 435 days until the 2013 U.S. Open comes to Delaware County and Merion Golf Club’s famed East Course for the first time in 32 years.