PINEHURST, N.C. – Eastern Kentucky’s men’s golf team carded its best round of the tournament to stave off a challenge from Penn State and hold onto second place after the final round of the Pinehurst Intercollegiate. The Colonels (+25), led by Phil Hendrickson’s four-under 68, fired a one-under 287 in the final round. Indiana University was the wire-to-wire leader, finishing the 54 holes at one-over.

Penn State entered the day tied for fourth and four shots behind EKU, but the Nittany Lions started off hot and moved into second place. When PSU cooled off, the Colonels remained hot overtaking the Nittany Lions and finishing six shots in front.

North Carolina Greensboro (+33) finished fourth, followed by Virginia Commonwealth (+34) in fifth. Eastern Kentucky finished higher than two top-50 teams, No. 17 Penn State and No. 43 Wisconsin.

After returning to the clubhouse with rounds of 79 and 77 on the first two days, Hendrickson brought back a 68 at the end of the third round. His nine-shot improvement over the second round vaulted the senior from a tie for 55th into a tie for 19th at +8.

Eastern’s top four golfers finished with in two shots of each other. Ryan Britt (+7) and Trey Bowling (+7) led EKU with a pair of 10th place finishes. Both shot a one-over 73 in the final round. Justin Moore (+9) tied for 23rd and Jesse Massie (+16) tied for 60th.

The three-day, 54-hole event was contested on the par 72, 7,035-yard Centennial Pinehurst No. 8.

The Colonels will return to action on March 29 when they begin play at the Hoosier Invitational, hosted by Indiana University.

2. EASTERN KENTUCKY 304-298-287--889
T10. Ryan Britt 78-72-73--223 +7
T10. Trey Bowling 75-75-73--223 +7
T19. Phil Hendrickson 79-77-68--224 +8
T23. Justin Moore 72-80-73--225 +9
T60. Jesse Massie 83-74-75--232 +16