Mark Twain once said that golf is a good walk spoiled. What he forgot to mention was that bad golf makes things much worse.
The Penn State men's golf team has been figuring that out all season long, though, as the disappointing finishes mount and the frustration grows.
The Nittany Lions traveled to Dublin, Ohio, this weekend to participate in the Kepler Intercollegiate tournament at the Jack Nicklaus designed Muirfield Village Golf Club. They came back with another result they would like to forget.
In a 15-team field, Penn State was 15th overall, marking the second time this spring it has finished in last place. The team has yet to finish better than 14th this year.
The Lions were once again led by sophomore Robert Rohanna, who has been the team's best golfer all season long. He carded a 9-over-par 225, a score that put him only 10 strokes behind individual winner Kyle Moore of Northwestern.
Rohanna's performance, good for a share of 13th place, was still not enough to console him after the team's tough weekend.
"I played much better than I shot," Rohanna said. "I missed a lot of shots from easy places."
Rohanna's Penn State teammates did not fare as well on the course. Freshman Matt Leon turned in a score of 236 (tied for 48th), freshman Mitch Van Zelfden finished with a 244 (tied for 69th), senior Greg Pieczynski carded a 248 (tied for 74th) and senior Marco Poccia ended the weekend with a 249 (tied for 76th).
Despite suffering yet another letdown, the golfers have not gotten down on themselves. They go into every tournament with the belief that they can do well.
"It doesn't matter where we finish, whether it's last or whatever, as long as we go out and play our best," Pieczynski said of the team's focus going into each event.
So far the approach has not translated into any great performances, but Penn State is a young team with a lot of room to grow. Still, no one is trying to use that as an excuse.
"We've all been playing tournament golf for a long time," Rohanna said. "I feel confident we'll do better this weekend."
That "we'll get 'em next time" attitude may be wearing out for the team, but, if there was ever a time to step up, it's this weekend. The Lions will have a home-course advantage as they host the Rutherford Intercollegiate tournament on April 22-23 at the Blue and White Courses in State College.
