PSUAC Golf Championships Promise to be One of the Deepest Fields in Recent Memory

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State University Athletic Conference Golf Championships will be held next week as 11 teams will vie for the team and individual titles up for grabs. The event tees off at the Penn State Blue Course in State College at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 9th with the second round slated for the same time on Tuesday, October 10th. Both days will be shotgun starts.

The PSUAC Golf Championships, held concurrently with the USCAA Golf National Championships, will feature nearly 60 golfers from around the Commonwealth, plus more than 80 additional players from non-PSUAC institutions. PSUAC golfers will have the opportunity to take home hardware from both the conference and the USCAA at the event, including individual medalist honors, All-Conference, All-American, and team titles.

The Penn State Blue Course is a par-72 layout over 6,300 long from the white tees.

Let's dive into our preview:

Teams to Watch

We appear to have a three-horse race for the team title, with defending champions Penn State Hazleton leading the way. Right behind them sits Penn State York and Penn State Mont Alto, both teams that have won events this fall. With a two-day event, two other contenders could shoot their way up the leaderboard as Penn State Brandywine and Penn State Lehigh Valley have both enjoyed top five team finishes at the two PSUAC Invitationals in State College.

Hazleton leads the way with two wins, capturing the PSUAC Blue Course Invitational with an exceptional 296 team score--an event low since its inception. They also took home the Clark Luis Invitational, hosted by Hazleton at Valley Country Club. In addition, Hazleton finished a close second at the PSUAC White Course Invitational as well as second at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Invitational. Their low finish on the year came at Mont Alto, finishing fourth. And just this last week, Hazleton closed out the regular season with the top PSUAC team finish at the Brandywine Invitational.

Nipping at Hazleton's heels is York, who won the White Course Invitational early in the season. The team also eeked out a win in a tight grouping of teams at the Mont Alto Invitational, winning by a stroke over Brandywine and three shots over the hosts. Their third place finish at the Blue Course Invitational was followed by marking the second-best PSUAC team score at the Brandywine Invitational.

The third contender, Mont Alto, took home the team title at Wilkes-Barre, and finished second at the Blue Course Invitational with a team score of 314--a total that would have won the event in most years. Third place finishes at their home invitational as well as at the White Course Invitational, both places they were within just a few strokes of the winning team, make Mont Alto a team to watch as championship play unfolds.

Despite not having won an event this year, Brandywine comes in with hopes of capturing a title. Two second-place finishes dot their schedule, as Brandywine were the runners-up at Mont Alto and the Clark Luis Hazleton Invitational. Solid showings in the top five at the two PSUAC Invitationals have them poised to make a push, but consistent play from the squad will be necessary to catch the favorites.

Rounding out teams to watch is perennial contender Lehigh Valley, a team that has improved its finishes throughout the fall. A fifth place finish at the White Course was followed by a fourth-place finish at the Blue Course, and further improved upon with a third-place finish at Hazleton.

Players to Watch

It is difficult to remember a time when the PSUAC individual fields were as deep as they are in 2023. Most years have seen three to four golfers who contend for most of the individual medalist honors throughout the year. Not in 2023--as many as 10 players are expected to contend for individual medalist honors, with others in solid positioning to earn All-Conference accolades. 

Let's take a look at some of the players who have some of the best performances of the year.

Jeremy Harper: Two-time PSUAC champion who did not win last year, but was still All-Conference. Harper finished as the co-medalist with teammate Joey Rebarchick at the Blue Course Invitational and the Clark Luis Invitational, shooting 2-under 70 at Penn State and 75 at Valley Country Club. Harper also finished second at Wilkes-Barre and fourth at Brandywine and has won a slew of individual events over the course of his career.

Joey Rebarchick: We'll keep it at Hazleton for now, as Rebarchick has routinely played the Blue Course very well. He earned co-medalist honors at both the Blue Course (where he was the defending champ) and Clark Luis. Rebarchick has not been as consistent as Harper throughout his career, but he always has a chance to go low at a course he seems to like.

Andy Manges: A year after Logan Snyder won the PSUAC and USCAA crowns, Manges has stepped in to fill the top spot at York. He opened the season with a phenomenal 1-under par 71 at the White Course Invitational to earn co-medalist honors. He followed that up with top-6 finishes at Mont Alto, Brandywine and the Blue Course. 

Mason Steward: Manges teammate has had some impressive showings throughout the year, and much like Rebarchick his consistency has not been the same as his teammate. But Steward has played extremely well at Penn State. He finished third at the White Course Invitational after a 73, and shot a solid 79 at the Blue Course. If Steward can string two days together, a top finish, or at least a top-3 spot is well within his ability.

Ryan Small: Mont Alto's most consistent player has been Ryan Small. Small has an individual title to his name this fall, winning his home event with an even-par 72 at Penn National Golf Club. Small also finished third at the Blue Course Invitational and tied for third at the White Course.

Hunter Flickinger: Small's teammate at Mont Alto, Flickinger also tied for third at the White Course with a 73 and finished tied tied fourth at Blue Course. Flickinger and Small will likely be the driving forces behind Mont Alto's team finish as each looks to etch their name in PSUAC lore.

Others to watch:

Wilkes-Barre's Cooper Kelly won his home Wilkes-Barre Invitational, but did not break 80 in either of the events at the Penn State Golf Courses. Still, Kelly could be a factor in the individual medalist race and is a solid candidate to be All-Conference. His teammate Josh Brown went low at the White Course Invitational, taking co-medalist honors with Manges. Brown did not make the trip to the Blue Course Invitational, so his familiarity with the course may not be as high as his opponents.

Brandywine's Zak Karlton, who finished second at Mont Alto, has been up and down at the Penn State courses. Karlton shot 75 at the White Course, but did not crack the top-10 at the Blue Course. Still, a previous All-Conference honoree, Karlton has the ability to make some noise. His teammate Matt Cavanaugh was more consistent at the Penn State courses, shooting 79 at the White Course and 78 at the Blue Course.

Finally, a sleeper may be Penn State DuBois' Brett Beith. Beith, a standout for the national champion baseball team at DuBois, joined the team later in the fall and proceeded to shoot 3-over 75 at the Blue Course Invitational. If Beith plays well both days and flashes his abilities, he could just steal at victory (see what I did there with the baseball reference?).

The PSUAC recognizes an individual medalist, team champion and an All-Conference team which is made up of the top-10 individual finishers. Additionally, the USCAA will recognize an individual male and female medalist, team champion and a 14-person All-American team based upon the two-day totals.

Fans are welcome to attend the event but are required to maintain distance from the players throughout the rounds. Advice and conversation are strictly prohibited between spectators and players and may result in disqualification. We hope that you will enjoy watching our student-athletes compete, but encourage you to be considerate. If weather permits, the golf course will rent spectator carts for a fee. 

For more details on the PSUAC and USCAA Golf Championships visit the USCAA's Golf Championship page.