The Penn State men's golf team will travel to Dublin, Ohio, this weekend in hopes of doing something that it hasn't been able to achieve so far this spring -- breathing some life into a season that is quickly coming to a close.
Ohio State will play host to 14 other schools at the Kepler Intercollegiate Tournament, which will be held this year at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin. Ohio State's traditional home course, the Scarlet Course, is under renovations by golf legend Jack Nicklaus' design company.
While the changes are taking place, Nicklaus allowed the venue to be moved to Muirfield, which is considered one of the finest courses in the nation.
"We are tremendously excited and extremely fortunate," Ohio State head coach Jim Brown said in an August 2005 article on CSTV.com. "Mr. Nicklaus has been so wonderful in the Scarlet Course restoration project and this is just another act of kindness on his behalf. The Kepler will be a great success, and we are looking forward to competing on such a world-class golf course."
The Nittany Lions are also excited about the chance to play at Muirfield Village, but would be even more pleased with a successful tournament, something that has eluded them all season long.
"Sometimes you play well, and sometimes you don't," sophomore Robert Rohanna said after the team struggled last weekend at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. "When it's bad, you just need to let it go."
Penn State has not been able to put together a string of well-played rounds, leaving the team without a lot to build on as the season reaches its home stretch. Posting some good scores in this event, even if it doesn't mean an extremely high finish, will go a long way in preparing the team for future tournaments.
With such a young group of golfers, many of the Lions are still adjusting to the game at the Division I level.
"I'm just trying to evaluate my failures and learn from each experience I get so I can do better in the future," freshman Mitch Van Zelfden said. "I'm really glad how far I've come this year. I've been playing to my strengths and improving on my weaknesses."
Penn State has gotten contributions from a lot of its younger talent this year. The freshmen and sophomores have showed progression, but it's going to take a much better team effort for Penn State to hold its own against the elite competition at the Kepler Intercollegiate.
Some of the golfers have been trying to make adjustments to their swings to cut down on costly mistakes. Whether or not this is going to make a big difference on their scorecards remains to be seen.
This weekend's tournament will be especially important for the team in preparing for its first home event this year. This is the final tune-up before Penn State hosts the Rutherford Intercollegiate on April 22-23.
