September 19, 2008

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Pennsylvanian Kyle Marti closed with his 7th par on Thursday to nearly grab the lead from Virginian and rookie John Mello. Marti, coming off a 71-point effort at Conewango Country Club last weekend, has catapulted him back to the top of the Virtual Tournament.

"He has returned to the top again," said Jason Ridgeway. "To win the Virtual Tournament two years in a row would be amazing. With this many golfers, we would see a completely different Kyle in just 2 years."

The total strokes at Penn State University was a career-low for Marti. The 13-over 85 and 81 points ties another July 2008 round at Penn State. It was statisically his best round since July 2003 where he shot an unimpressive 10-over 80 at Gospel Hill from 5,500 yards.

Marti moves into 2nd position with 73.0 points per round and 0.7 points from the top spot. He needs just 65 points during his next round to grab the lead.

"My game is pretty sharp these days," said a delighted Marti. "I remember the days of shooting 110 and higher. The most noticable change over the past couple of years is ball inventory. I am now finding more balls than losing balls into the water and woods. I guess this means 'hacker' is no longer a word to describe my game."

In other news, Greg Garrett and Long will travel south to western Virginia on Sunday evening. They will play four courses in three days before heading to West Virginia for Golfapalooza.