June 10, 2009

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Golf Coaches Association of America announced the PING All-Region teams this week and Villanova sophomore Brendan Kelly (Annapolis, Md.) was named to the All-Northeast Region squad. Kelly led the team in scoring this season in his first year with the Wildcats after transferring from Towson.

In a team-high 11 tournaments and 25 rounds played, Kelly posted an even 75.00 stroke average with three top-10 and two top-20 finishes. He earned team medalist honors in eight of the 11 events he played and was the overall tournament medalist out of 78 golfers at the Big Five Championship during the fall.

Kelly finished the fall with a 73.69 stroke average and the spring with a 76.42 mark, leading the team during each part of the season. His other top-10 finishes aside from the Big Five tournament came in the fall at the Mission Inn Collegiate Classic and the spring at the Lafayette Invitational.

At both the Big Five Championship and the Lafayette Invitational, Kelly advanced to playoffs after tying for the individual lead after 36 holes. He carded consecutive scores of even-par 71 at Philadelphia Country Club and won the Big Five title in a playoff. At Lafayette, Kelly posted scores of 74-71 before falling in a playoff and finishing second.

Kelly's play led Villanova to a fourth place finish out of 15 schools at the Big Five Championship, and the Wildcats finished just six strokes off the team lead in search of its second Big Five trophy. Villanova also finished second out of 21 teams at Lafayette, during a stretch of three straight tournaments in which the team placed in the top half of the tournament field.

Of the 22 golfers named to the Northeast Region team, Kelly was one of just four from Big Five schools, joining two individuals from Temple and one from Saint Joseph's.