Patriot golfers rally to finish 7th at Penn State Tournament

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- Senior Christopher Couch fired a final-round, one-over-par 72 on Sunday (April 25) to help lead Francis Marion University to a season-ending seventh-place finish at the 34-annual Rutherford Intercollegiate Golf Tournament host by Penn State University.

The Patriots completed their second round (303) in the morning to move up one position from ninth to eighth.  FMU then registered a 305 score during the third round on Sunday afternoon to move up another position to seventh.  The tournament was the final event in the Patriots' 2009-2010 schedule.

The host Nittany Lions led from start-to-finish to claim the team title for 21st time in tournament history. Penn State, ranked No. 62 by Golfweek, shot rounds of 291-299-289=879, finishing 20 shots ahead of second-place Towson University (899).

Ohio University (902) placed third, followed by Bowling Green State University (906), Longwood University (909), St. Bonaventure University (915), and FMU (917).  The tournament field consisted of 14 teams.

Playing his final match for the Red, White, and Blue, Couch tied for 11th in the individual standings at 75-77-72=224. Couch is a native of Summerville.  FMU freshman Kenneth Svanum (83-73-76=232) finished tied for 37th, while freshman Sebastian Backlund (76-77-82=235) tied for 47th.  Senior Matt Jackson (75-76-87=238) and freshman Travis Gantt (83-80-75=238) both tied for 55th place.  Gantt finished tied for ninth in the tournament with 33 pars.Penn State's Kevin Foley, ranked No. 46 by Golfweek, beat Towson's John Duthie by eight strokes to claim medalist honors at 70-72-69=211. 

Named after R.B. "Pop" Rutherford, Sr., the father of Penn State golf, the tournament was held at the 7,202-yard, par-71 Penn State Blue Course.