STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State men's golf team placed tenth out of 11 teams at the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City. The Nittany Lions finished with a score of 1180 (+28), which is the third best 72-hole score in school history.
Mark Leon (Brampton, Ontario) was the Nittany Lions top finisher tying for 18th with a total score of 5-over 293. Leon's 72-hole score is the fourth best in school history.
Jim Fuller (Muskogee, Okla.) and Josh Dawes (Jacksonville, Fla.) finished within three strokes of Leon. Fuller shot a 7-over 295 tying him 24th place, while Dawes tied for 27th with an 8-over 296.
Jeff Turton (Ithaca, N.Y.) tied for 40th with a score of 300 and teammate Andy Latowski (Pittsburgh, Pa.) shot a 304 tying him for 45th.
Minnesota shot a 3-under 285 on the final day to win the Big Ten Championship with a total score of 1152 (E). The Gophers entered the final round six shots behind the leader, but made up the six strokes to finish four strokes in front of second place Illinois, who shot a score of 1156. Purdue, who entered the round in the lead, placed third with a score of 1157.
Eric Jorgenson of Michigan State won his first Big Ten title with a final score of 8-under par 280. Scott Harrington of Northwestern shot a final round of 66, the best 18-hole round of the tournament, to catapult him from eighth to second with a final score of 282 (-6)
The Nittany Lions next tournament will be the NCAA East Regional May 16-18, with the site to be determined.
Team Results:
1. Minnesota 294 278 295 285 1152
2. Illinois 294 287 282 293 1156
3. Purdue 279 289 293 296 1157
4. Northwestern 289 283 296 295 1163
5. Michigan State 291 291 291 293 1166
6. Indiana University 293 287 287 300 1167
7. Ohio State 295 285 295 293 1168
8. Michigan 294 284 294 298 1170
9. Iowa 291 286 302 293 1172
10. Penn State 302 295 287 296 1180
11. Wisconsin 297 300 305 301 1203
Individual Results
1. Eric Jorgensen Michigan State 70 72 69 69 280
2. Scott Harrington Northwestern 69 77 70 66 282
3. James Lepp Illinois 70 71 71 71 283
4. Simon Nash Minnesota 73 70 70 71 284
5. Andrew Matthews Michigan 72 69 70 74 285
6. Ben Davidson Indiana 72 71 71 72 286
Justin Smith Minnesota 71 69 76 70 286
8. Chris Mayson Purdue 68 73 70 76 287
9. Jeff Overton Indiana 72 69 73 74 288
10.Michael O'Neal Illinois 79 69 69 72 289
Doug Wade Ohio State 73 69 74 73 289
18.Mark Leon Penn State 74 74 69 76 293
24.Jim Fuller Penn State 76 71 74 74 295
27.Josh Dawes Penn State 75 75 72 74 296
40.Jeff Turton Penn State 78 77 72 73 300
45.Andy Latowski Penn State 77 75 77 75 304
