The Rutherford Intercollegiate, the annual tournament hosted by Penn State on its Blue Course, was something of a coming-out party a year ago for James Allen, a sophomore from Scarsdale, N.Y., and junior Patrick Sheehan, who starred scholastically at Central Bucks East.
Allen, competing as an individual in his first college tournament, finished in a tie for fourth place. Sheehan solidified his spot in the Penn State lineup with a runnerup finish in the individual standings that led the Nittany Lions to their sixth straight team title in the Rutherford.
A year later, there they were tied at the top of the leaderboard, each finishing with a 3-under-par 210 total over the 7,171-yard, par-71 Blue Course layout with Allen, again competing as an individual, claiming the individual title on a tiebreaker.
Sheehan was likely not as interested in the individual hardware as he was in leading Penn State to its seventh straight team crown in the Rutherford with a 12-over 864 total as the Nittany Lions, No. 94 in the latest Golfstat rankings, rallied past Big Ten rival Michigan State, ranked 33rd.
Sheehan’s solid spring for Penn State a year ago carried over to the summer as he had several strong showings, getting to tee it up on two of Pennsylvania’s iconic courses. Sheehan finished in a tie for second place in the Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course and earned himself a spot in the field for the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh.
Sheehan has been a steady force at the top of head coach Greg Nye’s lineup throughout the wraparound 2021-2022 season.
Allen built a four-shot lead in the individual standings with a spectacular showing in Saturday’s double round as he added a sparkling 5-under 66 in the afternoon to his opening round of 2-under 69. Sheehan, among others, was tied for second place as he matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 3-under 68.
Allen struggled a little in chilly conditions in Sunday’s final round, closing with a 4-over 75. Sheehan again matched par in the final round with a 71 that enabled him to catch Allen. More importantly, a par on the 18th hole by Sheehan sealed Penn State’s two-shot victory over Michigan State.
Penn State had opened with a 3-over 287 and added a 2-over 286 in Saturday afternoon’s second round and trailed Michigan State by four shots heading into the Easter Sunday windup. The Spartans had matched par in the opening round with a 284 before adding a 1-over 285 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.
Penn State closed with a 7-over 291 that enabled it to sneak past Michigan State, the Spartans finishing up with a 13-over 297 for a 14-over 866 total that left them two shots behind the Nittany Lions in second place.
St. Mary’s, out of the West Coast Conference, took a trip across the country to tee it up in the Rutherford and finished three shots behind Michigan State in third place with a 17-over 869 total.
The Gaels, ranked 96th, were only a shot behind Penn State after adding a 2-over 286 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to their opening round of 4-over 288. St. Mary’s finished up with an 11-over 295.
No. 88 Seton Hall, out of the Big East, finished two shots behind St. Mary’s in fourth place with a 19-over 871 total as the Pirates added a 290 in Saturday’s second round to their opening round of 1-over 285 before closing with a 12-over 296.
Eastern Michigan, out of the Mid-American Conference, was another eight shots behind Seton Hall in fifth place with a 27-over 879 total as the Eagles matched the low team round of the weekend when they matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 284 after opening with a 296. Eastern Michigan closed with a 299.
Another Big Ten entry, Maryland, was six shots behind Eastern Michigan in sixth place in the 14-team field with a 33-over 885 total. The Terrapins shaved 10 shots off an opening-round 298 with a 4-over 288 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 299.
Penn State also got a strong showing from freshman Jake Griffin as he backed up Sheehan in the starting lineup by finishing among a group of three players tied for eighth place with a 3-over 216 total. After opening with a solid 1-under 70, Griffin added a 1-over 72 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 3-over 74.
Junior Jimmy Meyers, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team, finished among the group tied for 11th place with a 4-over 217 total for Penn State. Meyers added a 1-under 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 74 before closing with a 73.
Meyers was the runnerup and Sheehan landed in a tie for third place in the PIAA Class AAA individual chase in 2018 at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort.
Graduate student Lou Olsakovsky, who starred scholastically at Upper St. Clair, and junior Ben Smith, who was also a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in 2018 as a senior at West Perry, rounded out the Penn State lineup as they finished among the group tied for 26th place, each landing on 9-over 222.
Olsakovsky added a 3-over 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 75 before finishing up with a 2-over 73. Smith had similar splits as he added a 2-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to an opening-round 75 before closing with a 74.
Allen wasn’t the only Penn State player competing as an individual to play well.
James McHugh, a graduate student from Rye, N.Y., finished among the group tied for 15th place with a 6-over 219 total. After opening with a 74, McHugh added a 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 72.
Senior Hunter Bruce, who finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship in 2017 as a senior at Peters Township, landed in the group tied for 23rd place with an 8-over 221 total. Bruce sandwiched a 75 in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 2-over 73s.
Jud Langille, a sophomore from Ossining, N.Y., joined his Penn State teammates Olsakovsky and Smith in the group tied for 26th place with a 9-over 222 total. Langille carded a pair of 75s in Saturday’s double round before closing with a 1-over 72.
Rounding out the Penn State contingent was freshman Morgan Lofland, who highlighted an outstanding scholastic career at Conestoga by winning the Class AAA East Regional at Golden Oaks Golf Club in 2019.
Lofland has been in and out of the starting lineup, but, overall, has had a pretty solid freshman season in Happy Valley. After opening with a 75, Lofland bounced back nicely with a 1-under 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before struggling to a final-round 80 that left him among the group tied for 46th place with a 225 total.
Penn State will wrap up its regular season when it travels to Columbus, Ohio this weekend for the Kepler Intercollegiate at the Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course, one of the most challenging on-campus golf courses in America.
The Nittany Lions would probably need to win the team title in the Big Ten Championship, which tees off April 29 at the Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind. to have any chance to make the NCAA regionals. But I would have to think Sheehan would have a real shot to be a contender for individual honors in the conference championship.
St. Mary’s Kristian Bressum, a freshman from Denmark, and Seton Hall’s Wenliang Xie, a junior from China, finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings, two shots behind Allen and Sheehan with a 1-under 212 total.
Bressum opened with a solid 2-under 69 and added a 72 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71. Xie was tied for second place, four shots behind Allen, following Saturday’s double round as he opened with a 3-under 68 and matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 71. Xie cooled off a little in Sunday’s final round with a 2-over 73.
Xie’s Seton Hall teammate, Gregor Tait, a graduate student from England, finished alone in fifth place with an even-par 213 total. Tait opened with a solid 2-under 69, struggled a little in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 74, but finished up with a 1-under 70.
Bressum’s St. Mary’s teammate, Mitchell Hoey, a freshman from Alamo, Calif., and Michigan State’s August Meekhoff, a sophomore from Coopersville, Mich., finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 2-over 215.
Hoey was also in the group tied for second place in the individual standings following Saturday’s double round as he added a 3-under 68 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to the even-par 71 he opened with. He struggled a little in the final round with a 76. Meekhoff matched par in each of Saturday’s two rounds with a pair of 71s before closing with a 2-over 73.
Meekhoff’s Michigan State teammate, Bradley Smithson, a junior from Grand Rapids, Mich., and George Mason’s Will Halamandaris, a graduate student from Annapolis, Md., joined Penn State’s Griffin in the trio tied for eighth place at 3-over 216.
Smithson was also in contention for the individual title, tied for second place, four shots behind Allen, after he added a 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 2-under 69. He backed off with a 77 in the final round.
Halamandaris matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 1-over 72 and closed with a 73.
Graduate student Chris Tanabe, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Quaker Valley, took the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA to make up for the spring of 2020 lost to the coronavirus pandemic at Maryland after a strong four-year career at Bucknell.
Tanabe, the impressive winner of the 2019 Pennsylvania Amateur at Aronimink Golf Club, finished in a tie for 26th place in the Rutherford with a 9-over 222 total. Tanabe added a 76 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 74 before closing with a solid 1-over 72.
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