Penn State is starting to look like the team that took its 2016-’17
season all the way to the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms.
Greg Nye’s Nittany Lions carded a final round of 2-under 278
to share the team title with hard-charging host Northwestern in the Windon
Memorial Classic, which concluded Monday at Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Ill.
Play wasn’t quite complete in Sunday’s attempted
double-round, but Penn State held the lead when play was suspended. The Nittany Lions had opened with an even-par 280 over the 6,793-yard, par-70 Evanston layout and ended up surging to a second-round total of 3-under 277.
When the second round was completed Monday morning, the Nittany Lions took a two-shot edge over
Iowa into the final round. Their final-round 278 left them at 5-under 835, but
Big Ten rival Northwestern came on strong with a 7-under 273 to catch Penn
State at 835.
Another Big Ten entry, Indiana, was four shots behind the
co-champions in third at 1-under 839 after a final round of 1-under 279. Iowa
State, out of the Big 12, also broke par in the final round with a 2-under 278
to finish fourth at 5-over 845.
Reigning Big East champion Marquette and Miami of Ohio
finished tied for fifth at 8-over 848. Marquette matched par in the final round
at 280 while Miami of Ohio, which opened with the best round of the tournament,
an 8-under 272, had a final round of 285.
Princeton finished strong with a 1-over 289 to end up ninth
in the 15-team field at 858.
Penn State was led by Charles Huntzinger, a junior from
Duluth, Ga. who finished among a group off five players tied for fifth at
2-under 208. Huntzinger contributed a 3-under 67 to the Lions’ second-round 277
and finished up with an even-par 70.
Ryan Davis, a sophomore from Berkeley Heights, N.J. who was
such a big part of Penn State’s run to Rich Harvest Farms as a freshman,
finished tied for eighth at 1-under 209. He sandwiched a 1-under 69 in the middle round with a pair of even-par 70s.
Junior Ryan Dornes, the Manheim Township product who missed
the postseason last spring after suffering an untimely injury, finished up with
a 2-under 68 Monday to end up tied for 10th at even-par 210.
Senior Cole Miller, the former Northwestern Lehigh standout
who claimed the individual title in the NCAA Washington Regional last spring,
finished tied for 13th at 1-over 211. He had a 1-under 69 in Penn
State’s key second round and added a final-round 72.
Junior J.D. Hughes, the Carlisle product who won the
Pennsylvania Amateur title at White Manor Country Club this summer, finished
tied for 29th at 5-over 215. His final round of even-par 70 was a
crucial counter.
Northwestern was led by Everton Hawkins, a sophomore from
Irvine, Calif. who shared third place with Iowa State’s Lachlan Barker, a
freshman from Australia, at 3-under 207. Hawkins fired a final round of 3-under
67.
Teammate Dylan Wu, a senior from Medford, Ore., joined Penn
State’s Huntzinger in the group tied for fifth at 2-under 208. Wu matched
Hawkins’ final-round 67.
Sam Triplett, a freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., finished
tied for 13th at 1-over 211 after firing a pair of 1-under 69s in
each of the last two rounds. Ryan Lamsden, a junior from England, finished tied
for 17th at 2-over 212, contributing a 4-under 66 in the opening
round.
Luke Miller, a junior from Venetia, Pa., finished tied for
50th at 9-over 219, but his second-round 73 was a counter. And his
even-par 70 in the final round, one shot better than Lamsden’s 71, also
counted. And how big was that one shot in helping the Wildcats get a share of
the Windon Memorial title?
Miami of Ohio’s Patrick Flavin, a senior from Highland,
Ill., and Indiana’s Brendon Doyle, a senior from Louisville, Ky., shared
individual medalist honors, each finishing up at 4-under 206.
Flavin opened up with a sizzling 5-under 65, added a 72 in
the second round and finished up with a 1-under 69. Doyle finished up strong
with a 5-under 65 in the final round after opening up with rounds of 69 and 72.
Iowa State’s Barker sandwiched a 3-under 67 in the middle
round with a pair of even-par 70s to join Northwestern’s Hawkins in a tie for
third at 3-under 207.
Iowa’s Alex Schaake, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb., joined
Northwestern’s Wu and Penn State’s Huntzinger in the tie for fifth at 2-under
208 with a final round of even-par 70.
Joining Penn State’s Davis in the tie for eighth at 1-under
209 was Indiana’s Jake Brown, a redshirt junior from Carmel, Ind. Brown beat
par in each of his first two rounds with a 68 and a 69 before finishing up with
a 2-over 72.
Princeton was led by Evan Quinn, a sophomore from
Morristown, N.J. who finished tied for 23rd at 4-over 214. Quinn’s
even-par 70 in the second round included a 5-iron shot at the 202-yard fourth
hole that found the bottom of the cup for an ace.
Sophomore Vinay Ramesh, the 2014 PIAA Class AAA champion as
a senior at Pennsbury, fired a final round of 1-under 69 to finish tied for 33rd
at 216. Ramesh defeated Penn State’s Dornes in a playoff to win that state
title at Heritage Hills.
Another shot back at 7-over 217 in a tie for 38th
for Princeton was senior Michael Davis, a Malvern Prep product and runnerup in
the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur. Davis finished up with a final round of
2-over 72.
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