PSU men’s golf overcomes 12-stroke deficit to share tourney championship

In the unlikeliest, most improbable turnaround all season, the Penn State men’s golf team overcame a 12-stroke deficit in the final round of the Rutherford Intercollegiate — the Nittany Lions’ lone home tournament of the year — to earn the tourney co-championship with Georgetown.

Penn State was tied for third among the 13-team field after the second round, when it was 12 strokes behind the Hoyas. But, during Sunday’s final round, Penn State posted its best round of the tournament (3-over 287) while Georgetown carded its worst (15-over 299).

Georgetown’s Cole Berman, who had a 67 on Saturday, wound up with a 78 on Sunday. Teammate Jack Musgrave, who penciled in a 69 in the second round, had an 82 in the third round. Meanwhile, three Penn State golfers finished with tournament-bests Sunday.

Overall, both the Nittany Lions and Hoyas finished with a 16-over 868 over the two-day, three-round tournament at the Penn State Blue Course. Oakland finished third at 24-over while Rutgers, the only other Big Ten competitor, finished ninth with a 41-over.

Charles Huntzinger paced the Nittany Lions by finishing the tournament at 1-over, which put him in fourth place on the individual leaderboard. He tallied a team-best 3-under 68 during the final round. Two other Lions also finished within the top 20, including Ryan Davis (sixth place, 2- over) and JD Hughes (17th place, 8-over).

Penn State will next travel to Columbus, Ohio, next weekend to compete in the Buckeyes’ Kepler Intercollegiate.

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 7:35 PM with the headline "PSU men’s golf overcomes 12-stroke deficit to share tourney championship."