State College, PA. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Golf team was one of 23 schools to converge on State College, PA. for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships on Tuesday. PSUGA Senior Bert Hinton (Richmond, VA./Benedictine College Prep) had a career day leading his team of three PSUGA Golfers at the event.
Hinton shot a career-best 80, finishing eight over par, placing 40th out of the field of 118 golfers at the event. The Penn State University Athletic Conference Championships happened in conjunction with the event and Hinton shined finishing 11th among conference competitors as he continued his consistent season with PSUGA.
It was the fourth time in six events this season that Hinton shot under an 85 and it dropped his season average to 84.2. He continued to improve on the course as the season progressed going from an 88 at the PSU-New Kensington invitational and dropping his score by eight strokes at the USCAA National Championships.
Freshman Sean Murphy (Churchill, PA./Woodland Hills HS) was the next best for PSUGA finishing in a tie for 92nd place scoring a 90 on the day. It was a strong start to the day for Murphy, who was under par for the first four holes of the course and he finished right around his season average on the day. Murphy finishes his freshman year with an average of 90.7 and heads into the off-season prime to keep improving.
Justin Wortman (Ashburn, VA./Briar Woods HS) rounded out the field for PSUGA finishing one stroke short of Murphy coming in a tie for 94th with a 91. Wortman got off to a strong start to the season when he shot an 81 at the PSU White Course Invitational and finished the year with the second-lowest average on the team at 89.2 and shot a 90 or under in five of his seven invitationals this season.
PSUGA Golf now heads into the off-season with the program on the incline over the last several seasons. Head Coach Mark Valko enters his first full off-season as head coach and is looking to continue to recruit the next generation of golfing talent at PSUGA. The PSUGA Golf team is looking stronger than ever and will come back even stronger in the 2020-2021 season.