The fall of Lofland's senior season at Penn State has its ups and downs

 

   It’s been three years since Morgan Lofland arrived at Penn State, coming off an outstanding scholastic career at Conestoga that included two trips to the PIAA Class AAA Championship. He had won the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship earlier that summer at Hershey Country Club.

   Lofland has had his ups and downs at Penn State, as most college golfers do. He wasn’t even in the lineup for Penn State’s first event on the schedule for the wraparound 2024-2025 season. But as the fall wore on, Lofland was back among the first five for the Nittany Lions.

   Never could get to a Penn State tournament during a busy fall on the local golf scene, but wanted to check in on Lofland and recap the fall campaign for the Nittany Lions. As usual, ran into some other names of interest for some other programs along the way.

   Lofland’s best stretch came in the middle of the fall, which included the inaugural Canadian Collegiate Invitational, which wrapped up Sept. 17^th at Oviinbyrd Golf Club in Foots Bay, Ontario, followed by the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational, which finished up Oct. 1^st at the Nemacolin Resort’s Mystic Rock Golf Course in Farmington, Pa.

   Lofland was not in the lineup when Penn State opened its season by finishing in 15^th place in a loaded 16-team field in the Knoxville Collegiate, which wrapped up Sept. 8^th at the Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn.

   Jake Griffin, a senior from Kensington, Md., was Penn State’s best player during the fall portion of its schedule. He finished in a tie for 40^th place in the Knoxville Collegiate as he matched par in the opening round with a 70, added a 3-over 73 in the second round and closed with a 72 for a 5-over 215 total.

   Penn State finished with a 43-over 883 total.

   Southeastern Conference powers LSU and Mississippi battled it out for the team title with the Tigers matching par in the final round with a 280 to edge the Rebels by two shots with a 23-under 817 total. Ole Miss had taken a one-shot lead into the final round after adding a sizzling 13-under 267 in the second round to its opening-round 268 before finishing up with a 3-over 283.

   Lofland was in the lineup a little over a week later, finishing in 13^th place with a 4-under 212 total, as Penn State, one of the co-hosts, finished in sixth place in the 10-team field with an even-par 864 total in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational.

   Penn State opened with a 2-over 290, added a 289 in the second round and closed with a 3-under 285 for an even-par total over the par-72 Oviinbyrd layout.

   Lofland opened with a solid 4-under 68 and added a 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Alex Creamean, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., finished among the group tied for 14^th place with a 2-under 214 total as he matched par in the first two rounds with back-to-back 72s before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Griffin finished strong with a 3-under 69 to end up in the group tied for 23^rd place with a 1-over 217 total. Griffin matched par in the opening round with a 72 before struggling a little in the second round with a 4-over 76.

   Notre Dame, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, captured the team crown in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational with a 17-under 847 total. The Fighting Irish, who reached the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1966 last spring, matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added an 8-under 280 in the second round before closing with a 7-under 281.

   A couple of Pennsylvania scholastic standouts of recent vintage, sophomore Rocco Salvitti, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, and junior Calen Sanderson, the PIAA Class AAA champion in the pandemic year of 2020 as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, were in the lineup for Notre Dame at Ovvinbyrd.

   Salvitti finished in a tie for 19^th place with a 1-under 215 total as he matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Sanderson recorded back-to-back 1-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 75 to finish in a tie for 30^th place with a 5-over 221 total.

   A couple of weeks later, Penn State finished in a tie for fourth place in a 14-team field in the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational with a 21-over 885 total.

   The Nittany Lions bounced back from an opening-round 308 with a 5-over 293 in the second round of an opening-day double round over the par-72 Mystic Rock layout before closing with a solid 4-under 284.

   Creamean, who transferred to Penn State following his freshman season at Bucknell, led the way for Penn State as he closed with a solid 3-under 69 to finish in a tie for eighth place with a 2-over 218 total. Creamean had opened with a 4-over 76 before adding a 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.

   Griffin backed up Creamean with another solid showing as he finished in the group tied for 13^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Griffin matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 and then finished up with a 74.

   Andres Barraza, a junior from Parkland, Fla., gave Penn State a third finisher inside the top 20 as he shot up the leaderboard with a final round of 2-under 70 and ended up alone in 19^th place with a 7-over 223 total. Barraza, who also transferred to Penn State from Bucknell, had opened with a 6-over 78 before adding a 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.

   Robby O’Regan, a sophomore from Northbrook, Ill., finished among the group tied for 25^th place with a 9-over 225 total. O’Regan bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Lofland rounded out the Penn State lineup as he struggled in the opening-day double round with a pair of 7-over 79s before closing with a 73 to finish in the group tied for 48^th place with a 231 total.

   Will Preston, a freshman from Ada, Mich., competed as an individual for the Nittany Lions and finished among the group tied for 54^th place with a 233 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Preston struggled to an 81 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before finishing up with a 78.

   Lot of interesting names on the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational leaderboard, led by George Mason junior Logan Paczewski, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Dallas who finished in a tie for fourth place with a 1-under 215 total.

   Paczewski, who transferred to George Mason, an Atlantic 10 representative, after spending two years at Rutgers, matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Paczewski also has a Golf Association of Philadelphia major championship on his resume having won the Patterson Cup in a playoff in 2023 at Llanerch Country Club.

   George Mason was the runnerup in the team chase at Nemacolin, finishing 12 shots behind tournament host West Virginia, out of the Big 12, with a 14-over 878 total.

   West Virginia was led by the individual winner, Kaleb Wilson, a junior from Knoxville, Tenn. who got it under par in each of his three rounds for a 7-under 281 total. Wilson opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 4-under 68 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Richmond senior Patrick Isztwan, the runnerup in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in 2023 at his home course at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, finished in 11^th place with a 3-over 219 total after closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Isztwan, winner of the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual crown in 2017 as a freshman at Penn Charter, had struggled in the opening round with a 78 before matching par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 72.

   The 11^th-place finish at Nemacolin was a career-best for Isztwan, which he bettered less than two weeks later with his first career top 10, a tie for ninth place in the RedHawk Intercollegiate at the Pittsburgh Field Club.

   Isztwan finished with a 3-under 210 total, helping the Spiders finish in third place in the team standings in the RedHawk Intercollegiate.

   Richmond, a Patriot League entry, finished in a tie for fourth place in the team standings with a 21-over 889 total.

   Delaware, in its final season in the Coastal Athletic Association, finished in eighth place in the team standings at Nemacolin with a 36-over 900 total.

   The Blue Hens were led by Egor Zubov, a senior from Israel who finished in a tie for eighth place with a 2-over 218 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Zubov matched par in each of the last two rounds with back-to-back 72s.

   Another interesting name that popped up at Nemacolin was that of Robert Morris redshirt sophomore Chuck Tragresser, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup behind Sanderson in 2020 as a senior at Franklin Regional.

   Tragresser, who joined the program at Robert Morris, which plays out of the Horizon League, after transferring from Rhode Island, finished in a tie for 48^th place at Nemacolin with a 231 total. Tragresser bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 77.

   The next stop on the schedule for Penn State and second-year coach Mark Leon was supposed to be the Island at West Bay Collegiate Invitational at The West Bay Club in Estero, Fla., but the approach of Hurricane Milton forced the event to be cancelled.

   Penn State wrapped up its fall campaign in the Qubein Cup, which wrapped up Oct. 16 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

   The Nittany Lions finished in 12^th place in the tough 13-team field with a 73-over 913 total.

   Griffin led the way for Penn State as he completed a solid fall campaign by finishing among the group tied for 26^th place with a 12-over 222 total over the par-70 Sedgefield layout. Griffin added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 74.

   O’Regan closed with a 79 after signing for a pair of 7-over 77s in the opening-day double round as he finished in the group tied for 65^th place with a 233 total.

   Creamean struggled in the opening-day double round with a pair of 80s before closing with a 6-over 76 as he finished alone in 73^rd place with a 236 total.

   Lofland rebounded from a disastrous opening-round 88 as he added a 7-over 77 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 73 to finish in 75^th place with a 238 total. Not the way he would have liked to finish the fall campaign of his senior season, but he had shown some flashes of his talent in his three starts.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Barraza, who was unable to turn in a scorecard in the second round. He had opened with an 8-over 78 and finished up with a 73.

   Zach Smith, a sophomore from Canada, competed as an individual and was solid in the opening-day double round following up a 1-over 71 in the opening round with a 75. Smith, however, was unable to turn in a card for the final round.

   It will be an interesting spring portion of the wraparound 2024-’25 season for Penn State. The Big Ten Championship, which includes former Pac-12 powers Southern California, UCLA and Oregon for the first time, will be held at Baltimore Country Club in April.

   Southern Conference power Chattanooga claimed the team title in the Qubein Cup as the Moccasins finished with an 18-over 858 total.

   Chattanooga was led by individual champion Camden Braidech, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz. who finished with a 3-under 207 total. Braidech took control of the individual chase by opening with a sparkling 4-under 66, the best round of the tournament. He added a 1-over 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70. He was the only player to finish under par for the tournament.

   Chattanooga senior Garrett Engle, a product of Central Dauphin who never participated in the PIAA postseason, finished in the large group tied for 26^th place with a 12-over 222 total.

   Engle, who reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Amateur in August at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., matched par in the opening round with a 70 before adding back-to-back 6-over 76s in the final two rounds.