May 27, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 27, 2017 -- The Penn State men's golf team shaved seven strokes off their opening round during Saturday's second round at the NCAA Championships, shooting a 6-over 294 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
Junior Cole Miller (New Tripoli, Pa.) and freshman Ryan Davis (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) led the Nittany Lions with one-under scores of 71 during Saturday's round. Miller, who was the medalist at the NCAA Washington Regional, had five birdies on Saturday and owns a two-round score of one-over 145.
Davis began his round with a double bogey at the first hole, but posted four birdies en route to a 71 and a two-round score of three-over 147.
Sophomore JD Hughes (Carlisle, Pa.) shot a three-over 75Saturday for a two-day total of seven-over 151. Sophomore Charles Huntzinger (Duluth, Ga.) shot a 76 and has a two-day total of 153. Huntzinger recorded an eagle three on the 562-yard second hole and also had a pair of birdies duringSaturday's round. Freshman Alec Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.) shot a 77 and has a two-day total of 156.
"Cole and Ryan played two more solid rounds today," said head coach Greg Nye. "We were in a good place with four to play, but some of the guys ran into trouble, which snuffed out a good team score."
After Sunday's third round, the field will be cut in half, from 30 teams to 15.
The Nittany Lions are playing in the NCAA Championships for the fifth time under head coach Greg Nye, with the last appearance coming in 2010.
Penn State, Illinois and Purdue are the Big Ten Conference teams participating in the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf Championships.
Penn State made its 23rd NCAA Championship regional appearance under Nye earlier this month, finishing fifth in the Washington Regional after being seeded ninth in the regional.