Wilkes-Barre's Melvin Wins Individual Golf Crown, Mont Alto Earns Team Title

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The sun was out on Tuesday at the Penn State Blue Course, but a chill was in the air. It wasn't enough to stop Penn State Mont Alto from cruising to the 2024 PSUAC Golf Team Championship on Tuesday.

Mont Alto controlled the tournament from start to finish, capping the two-day event with its first conference golf title since 2016. Mont Alto was paced by Jacob Bassham, who finished second in the PSUAC after leading after day one. Ryan Small tied for third in the PSUAC while Ben Irr and Hunter Flickinger each finished in the top 10 of the PSUAC to help Mont Alto win the team title by 25 shots over runners-up Penn State York.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre's Charlie Melvin earned Individual Medalist honors in the PSUAC, shooting a final round 76 to go with his opening round 77. Melvin trailed Bassham by three shots heading into Tuesday, but ended up pulling out the win by a stroke with a total of +9, 153 over two rounds. Bassham's 80 on day two wasn't enough to hold onto his opening round lead, but he completed the week with his best finish in the PSUAC. 

York was led by Dillon Yinger and Andy Manges, both All-Conference honorees based on their performances this week. The next four teams in the PSUAC team standings finished within four shots of each other, but well off the pace set by Mont Alto. Penn State Lehigh Valley finished third at 677 over two days, while Penn State Shenango shot 678 and Penn State Fayette came in at 679. Penn State Hazleton was unable to defend its title, which it had won in three straight seasons, finishing two shots behind Fayette.

The weather was frustrating during the event, with steady winds of 20 miles per hour on Monday before a cold spell hit on Tuesday morning, pushing temperatures down into the low 40's at the starting time of 8:30 a.m. The days immediately following the event are expected to push 70 degrees in central Pennsylvania.

Melvin finished tied for sixth in the USCAA Golf National Championship tournament, which is held concurrently with the PSUAC Championship, while Bassham also earned a top-10 performance and All-American recognition.

PSUAC All-Conference Team