FURMAN INVITATIONAL

Furman

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman’s Daniel Bowden completed his first round with a three-under 69 on Saturday while the University of North Florida notched an opening round 296 before play was suspended on Friday to hold first place at the 40th Annual Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72 Furman University Golf Course.

The tournament, originally scheduled for 54 holes, has been shortened to 36 holes after heavy rains continued to soak the course throughout Saturday and forced the cancellation of the scheduled second round.  The final round is now set to take place on Sunday beginning at 8 a.m.

Bowden, a junior from Easley, S.C., tallied back-to-back birdies on the back nine on Friday afternoon to shoot a 34 through his opening nine holes before carding a 35 on the front nine in a driving rain storm on Saturday morning.  He holds a two-stroke lead over Mark Stevens of Rhode Island, Drew Weaver of Virginia Tech, Garrett Medeiros of Wofford and Chris Kennedy of North Florida who are tied for second place at one-under 71.

Kennedy’s 71 helped the Ospreys to a one-stroke lead over Virginia Teach and two-stroke advantage over third place East Carolina entering Sunday’s final round.  The Paladins are just five strokes off of the lead in fourth place with Troy rounding out the top five just six strokes behind UNF.

After two straight days of heavy rains on the Furman Golf Course, Sunday’s forecast calls for sunshine, windy conditions and temperatures in the mid 50’s.  Furman, playing with Troy and Wofford, will tee-off beginning at noon on Sunday.  North Florida, East Carolina and Virginia Tech will begin their final rounds at 12:50 p.m.

Samford

GREENVILLE, S.C. --- Amidst wet and windy conditions at the recently renovated Furman University Golf Course (par 72, 6,944 yards), the Samford University men’s golf team finished its opening round of play in 17th place at the 40th-annual Furman Intercollegiate on Saturday.

In a rain-filled round that was initiated Friday and completed Saturday afternoon, Samford fired an 18-hole score of 317 to claim 17th place in the talent-laden tournament. The Bulldogs were led by senior Andrew Villarreal who carded a first-round score of 76 (37-39).

Villarreal, Samford’s native of Decatur, Ala., completed Saturday’s competition in a tie for 27th place in the individual standings.

The Bulldogs’ Bobby Baird followed with an 18-hole score of 79 (39-40), while Ian Cutting tallied an 80 (40-40) and Martin Bunt posted an 82 (40-42). Samford’s Jeremy Cox closed out the team’s scoring with a first-round total of 84 (40-44).

Due to another rainstorm rolling through Greenville, S.C., Saturday afternoon, the tournament’s second round of play was pushed back to Sunday. Therefore, the 54-hole event was trimmed to 36 holes and will be completed by Sunday afternoon.

North Florida leads the Furman Intercollegiate with an 18-hole score of 296, while Virginia Tech and East Carolina follow closely with total team tallies of 297 and 298, respectively.

Individually, Furman’s Daniel Bowden leads the tournament with a first-round score of 3-under 69.

The Samford men’s golf team will resume play in the 40th-annual Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday as the 19-team field is scheduled to conclude the final round of the 36-hole event being held at the Furman University Golf Course (par 72, 6,944 yards).

Appalachian State

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Jacob Eggers and Dustin Hudson each shot a 74 to lead the Appalachian State University men's golf team on Saturday at the Furman Intercollegiate first round Saturday morning.

Due to inclement weather, Friday's first round was moved to Saturday morning and round two has been cancelled, play will resume on Sunday with the final 18 holes.

The Mountaineers' are tied for seventh after the first 18 holes out of 19 teams.

Eggers and Hudson are tied for 10th after their first round 74.  Taylor Hines is tied for 27th with a 76 while Lance Wheeler is in a tie for 62nd with a 79.  Casey Johnson rounded out the ASU crew with an 82.