April 13, 2008
Columbus, Ohio - Penn State's T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) shot a final round 74, concluding a consistent weekend of golf and recording a collegiate-career best second-place finish at the 39th annual Kepler Intercollegiate Sunday.
The sophomore carded rounds of 73-75-74 (222), finishing in a three-way tie for second place at 9-over par. Howe tied for second in par-4 scoring (4.12 average, +4) and finished third in total pars with 37. In just his first year in Penn State's lineup, Howe has four top-10 finishes and two top-5 finishes.
Playing in a 14-team field that included five teams ranked in the top 40, the Nittany Lions placed sixth at +64 after posting scores of 303-310-303 (916). Colorado won the team title at +48, while Michigan State's Ryan Brehm earned medalist honors, shooting rounds of 73-72-73 (218) and finishing at 5-over par.
The tournament was held at the 7,455-yard, par-71 Ohio State University Scarlet Course. The course proved to be tough with an average score of 77.98 strokes, nearly seven strokes over par.
Following his win at last weekend's Marshall Invitational, senior Robert Rohanna (Waynesburg, Pa.) shot rounds of 76-77-78 (231), tying for 27th place at 18-over par. Rohanna, who placed third at last year's Kepler Intercollegiate, finished among the leaders in par-4 scoring (4.27 average, +9).
Sophomore Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) fired rounds of 76-84-73 (233) and tied for 34th place at 20-over par, while senior Harvin Groft (State College, Pa.) shot rounds of 78-79-78 (235) and tied for 41st place at 22-over par. Junior Matt Leon (Brampton, Ontario) tied for 66th place at 31-over par, carding rounds of 87-79-78 (244).
Penn State concludes its regular season April 19-20 when it hosts the 32nd annual Rutherford Intercollegiate. Twelve teams will compete in the 54-hole tournament held at the 7,202-yard, par-71 Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pa. The Nittany Lions won last year's Rutherford Intercollegiate - the 14th time they'd done so in the previous 16 years - and Rohanna earned medalist honors.
Team R1 R2 R3 Total To Par1) Colorado 299 307 294 900 +482) Michigan State 303 302 298 903 +513) Kent State 305 304 299 908 +564) Ohio State 298 310 301 909 +575) Northwestern 317 297 298 912 +606) Penn State 303 310 303 916 +647) Louisville 313 307 297 917 +658) Wisconsin 301 313 310 924 +729) Michigan 314 316 298 928 +7610) Purdue 311 312 307 930 +7811) Iowa 319 312 301 932 +8012) Furman 311 318 311 940 +8813) UNC-Wilmington 314 319 314 947 +9514) Marshall 322 321 312 955 +103
Penn State Players R1 R2 R3 Total To ParT2) T.J. Howe 73 75 74 222 +9T27) Robert Rohanna 76 77 78 231 +18T34) Kevin Foley 76 84 73 233 +20T41) Harvin Groft 78 79 78 235 +22T66) Matt Leon 87 79 78 244 +31