Coming off a disappointing 13th-place finish in
the Gopher Invitational to open its season, Penn State upped the ante by teeing
it up in the Rod Myers Invitational hosted by Duke at the Duke University Golf
Club in Durham, N.C.
In a field filled with Walker Cuppers and teams that made
deep runs in last spring’s NCAA Championship, the Nittany Lions found their
stride with a solid fifth-place finish. Penn State carded a final round of
4-under 284 over the 7,154-yard, par-72 Duke University layout in Sunday’s
final round to finish up with a 5-under 859 total.
The Nittany Lions had opened up with a 2-over 290 and a
3-under 285 in Saturday’s double-round.
They finished behind some of the very best teams in Division
I golf as Wake Forest ripped off a final round of 11-under 277 for a 29-under
835 total that gave the Demon Deacons the team title by seven shots over host
Duke, their third straight victory in the Rod Myers Invitational.
Wake Forest opened with a 6-under 282 and seized control of
the tournament with a 12-under 276 in Saturday’s second round. And it needed a
little cushion because reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke
finished with a sizzling 14-under 274, tied for the low team round of the tournament,
that enabled it to finish second at 22-under 842.
Two teams that met in the semifinals of the NCAA
Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., Vanderbilt and Oregon,
were next in the team standings at third and fourth, respectively. The
Commodores, who dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the Ducks in that NCAA
semifinal, matched Duke’s final-round effort with a spectacular 14-under 274 in
Saturday’s second round and finished four shots behind the Blue Devils in third at 18-under 846.
Oregon, which just fell short of a second straight NCAA
title with a loss to Oklahoma in the final match at the NCAA Championship,
struggled a little in the final round with a 2-over 290 to finish fourth, eight
shots behind Vanderbilt at 10-under 854.
Princeton finished last the stellar field of 12 at 912 after
a final round of 312.
Penn State was led by Charles Huntzinger, a junior from
Duluth, Ga. who opened with a 5-under 67, fell back a little with a 1-over 73
in Saturday’s second round and finished strong with a 3-under 69 to finish tied
for eighth at 7-under 209.
Senior Cole Miller, the Northwestern Lehigh product who
claimed the individual title in the NCAA Washington Regional last spring, also
fired a final-round 69 to finish tied for 15th at 2-under 214.
Ryan Davis, a sophomore from Berkeley Heights, N.Y. who was
a major contributor to Penn State’s run to the NCAA Championship as a freshman
last spring, made his first start of the season and finished tied for 24th
at 1-over 217. Davis was a little rusty with an opening-round 77, but bounced
back with a 2-under 69 Saturday afternoon and a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s final
round.
JD Hughes, a junior from Carlisle who claimed the
Pennsylvania Amateur title at White Manor Country Club this summer, finished
tied for 50th at 224 after a final-round 75 and junior Ryan Dornes,
a former Manheim Township standout, finished tied for 59th at 226
after a final-round 77.
Wake Forest was led by senior Will Zalatoris, a member of
the U.S. Walker Cup team from Plano, Texas. Zalatoris had rounds of 69, 67 and
68 to share the individual title with his U.S. Walker Cup teammate, Oregon’s
Norman Xiong, a sophomore from Canyon Lake, Calif., at 12-under 204. Xiong had
jumped out to a three-shot lead with rounds of 68 and 65 Saturday and cooled
off a little Sunday with a 1-under 71 to get a piece of the individual title.
Zalatoris and Xiong were fresh off an impressive 19-7
victory for the U.S. over Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup Match
at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course.
Wake Forest is so good, though, that it also has a member of
the losing GB&I team on its squad, Paul McBride, a senior from Ireland.
McBride flashed his talent with a 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round and
finished tied for 18th at 1-under 215.
Cameron Young, a junior from Scarborough, N.Y., gave Wake
Forest a second top-five finisher as he was in a foursome of players tied for
fourth at 8-under 208. Young contributed a final-round 67 to the Demon Deacons’
strong finish.
Eric Bae, a sophomore from Pinehurst, N.C., finished tied
for 15th at 2-under 214 with steady rounds of 72, 71 and 71. Mario
Steyn, a freshman from South Africa, had a final round of 1-under 71 to finish
36th at 5-over 221.
Kyle Sterbinsky, the former Peddie School standout from
Yardley, did not make the lineup for Wake Forest, nor was he one of the two
players chosen to compete as individuals. The junior is still listed on the
roster and maybe he’s more evidence of just how talented this Wake Forest team
is. It will be interesting to see how he does trying to crack one of the
toughest fives in the country to play your way into.
Runnerup Duke had three players in the top eight, led by
Chandler Eaton, a sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga. who finished alone in third at
9-under 207, three shots behind co-champions Zalatoris and Xiong. Eaton was as
consistent as you can be, carding three straight 3-under 69s.
Alex Smalley, a junior from Wake Forest, N.C., was in that
group along with Wake Forest’s Young tied for fourth at 8-under 208. The Duke
standout fired a 6-under 66 in the final round to move up the leaderboard.
Duke’s Jake Shuman, a senior from Needham, Mass., had a pair
of 69s after opening with a 73 to join Penn State’s Huntzinger and Vanderbilt’s
John Augenstein, a sophomore from Owensboro, Ky., in the group tied for eighth
at 209.
Augenstein was the match-play star in the Commodores’ run to
the Southeast Conference title and to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.
He fired a 5-under 67 in Saturday afternoon’s round and finished up with a
2-under 70 Sunday.
Joining Wake Forest’s Young and Duke’s Smalley in the quartet
tied for fourth at 8-under 208 were Louisville’s Matthias Schmid, a freshman
from Germany, and Liberty’s Mickey
DeMorat, a senior from Merritt Island,
Fla.
Schmid fired a 6-under 66 to get into contention and
finished up with a 3-under 69. DeMorat opened with a 4-over 76 and then went
off to the tune of a sizzling 8-under 64 Saturday afternoon. He finished up
with a 4-under 68.
Princeton senior Michael Davis, the former Malvern Prep
standout who was the runnerup in the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship,
finished tied for 59th at 226 after rounds of 74, 74 and 78.
No comments:
Post a Comment