Furman Golf Finishes Second At Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
Hilton Head Island, S.C. -- The Furman men's golf team tied for the low round of the day with a nine-over 297 to finish in second place in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate at the par-72 Wexford Plantation Course on Tuesday morning.
The Paladins (+34) finished six strokes behind Georgia State (+28) who captured the team title while Davidson (+39), Louisville (+40) and Presbyterian (+45) rounded out the top five in the 17-team field.
Junior Matt Brown (+7), who finished in a tie for ninth place, paced the Paladins with a final round 73. Senior Matt Broome (+6) fired a three-over 75 on Tuesday to share fifth place while Austin Reeves (+10) and Greg Carrier (+11) finished 14th and 18th, respectively.
Damon Stephenson (E) of Georgia State used a final round 73 to hold onto individual medalist honors at even par. Stephenson's teammate Tyler Gruca (+3) placed second.
The Paladins return to action February 26-28, at the John Hayt Intercollegiate in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
2 Furman 309 292 297 898
T5 Matt Broome 73 74 75 222
T9 Matt Brown 80 70 73 223
T14 Austin Reeves 76 75 75 226
T18 Greg Carrier 80 73 74 227
T52 J.B. Murphy 82 77 76 235
Davidson Golf Places Third at Wexford Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - The Davidson men's golf team finished in third place at 903 (303+295+305) as play in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate hosted by Francis Marion concluded Tuesday afternoon on theWexford Plantation Course.
Cold and windy conditions resulted in high scores for all 17 teams competing on the 6,828-yard, par-72 layout course. Georgia State maintained its lead, winning with a three-round score of 892 (297+294+301). Southern Conference foe Furman matched the single-round team low score of the tournament, 297, in the final round to move past the Wildcats into second place.
Sophomore Sam Echikson led Davidson in the final round with a one-over-par 73 to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place at 223 (75+75+73), seven-over-par. Classmate Richard Fountain finished as Davidson's top individual with a fifth-place finish. He was in third place individually with a two-round score of 145 (+1), two strokes off the lead, but shot a five-over-par 77 in the final round toslip into a tie for fifth at 222, six-over-par.
Damon Stephenson and Tyler Gruca, both from Georgia State, held onto their positions as the top two golfers in the field, finishing at 216 (E) and 219 (+3), respectively.
Junior John Skeadas matched Fountain's 77 in the final round and placed in a tie for 23rd at 228 (76+75+77). Freshman Ralph Blasey finished two strokes behind Skeadas at 230 (77+75+78) to tie for 28th place.
Davidson edged Louisville (904) by one stroke. Presbyterian rounded out the top five at 909. The Wildcats also bested three SoCon foes, Samford (11th, 923), Western Carolina (14th, 934) and Elon (16th, 943),
Davidson will next compete at the Seahawk Intercollegiate hosted by UNC Wilmington.
SAMFORD MEN'S GOLF PLACES 11TH AT 2012 WEXFORD PLANTATION INTERCOLLEGIATE
--- The Bulldogs were paced by O'Toole with a three-round score of 227 ---
FLORENCE, S.C. --- The Samford University men's golf team opened its spring season with an 11th-place finish Tuesday at the seventh-annual Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate Tournament.
The talent-laden season-opening tournament consisted of 54 holes and was held at the 6,828-yard, par-72 Wexford Plantation course.
The highly-acclaimed field included Samford, Francis Marion, Davidson, DePaul, Elon, Furman, Georgia State, Hartford, Louisville, Marshall, Ohio, Presbyterian College, Radford, Richmond, USC Aiken, Western Carolina and William & Mary.
Samford concluded the three-round tournament with a total team score of 923 (313-306-304), which was only seven strokes out of seventh place. Georgia State earned the championship title with a 54-hole score of 892 (297-294-301), while Furman followed with an 898 (309-292-297) and Davidson placed third with a final score of 903 (303-295-305).
Samford turned in its best round of the tournament Tuesday as the Bulldogs carded a team score of 304.
Junior Casey O'Toole paced Samford in the final two rounds of the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate as he posted identical scores of 74 in the second and third frames of the tournament. O'Toole, the Bulldogs' native of Oneonta, Ala., placed 18th in the competition and turned in a 54-hole mark of 227 (79-74-74).
Fellow junior Drew Aimone finished just one stroke behind O'Toole as he carded a three-round score of 228 (75-77-76) for Samford. True freshman Zach Hughes followed with a mark of 235 (76-82-77), while both Bill Nabors and William Catanzaro posted identical scores of 239.
The Bulldogs' Nabors and Catanzaro tallied identical rounds of 83 to open the tournament Monday. Nabors then turned in his best score of the competition with a 76 in the second frame, while Catanzaro finished strong with a 5-over 77 in the third round of action.
Georgia State's Damon Stephenson and Tyler Gruca finished 1-2 in the 2012 Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate. Stephenson posted an even-par 216 (72-71-73) in the competition, while Gruca carded a three-round mark of 219 (73-71-75).
The Samford University men's golf team will next be in action March 5-6, as the Bulldogs host the 2012 Samford Invitational which will be held at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Ala.
Spartans finish 12th at Puerto Rico Classic
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -UNCG men's golf team fired a final round 304 and finished 12th in the 15-team Puerto Rico Classic, which concluded play Tuesday at Rio Mar Country Club.
The Spartans completed the three-round tournament at 906 (296-306-304), finishing ahead of North Carolina (915), Michigan (915) and East Tennessee State (924). No. 8 Alabama won the team title by shooting 834 (276-279-279).
Alabama's Justin Thomas (-9) earned individual medalist honors.
Sophomore Andy Knox led the way for UNCG, finishing tied for 46th after a final round 77 left him at 225 (70-78-77) for the tournament.
Junior Robert Hoadley finished tied for 55th at 227 (75-75-77), while senior Will Almand finished tied for 58th at 228 (75-76-77). Freshman Alex Ehlert tied for 62nd at 230 (78-77-75), and senior Colin Chapman finished on a strong note, shooting 75 one day after being forced to withdraw from the second round.
The Spartans next compete at the Washington State Snowman Getaway, Feb. 27-28 at Goodyear, Ariz.
12 UNCG 296-306-304 906
T46 Andy Knox (1) 70-78-77 225
T55 Robert Hoadley 75-75-77 227
T58 Will Almand 75-76-77 228
T62 Alex Ehlert 78-77-75 230
74 Colin Chapman 76-WD-75 151
Pl Team Scores
1 Alabama 276-279-279 834 -30
2 Clemson 283-28- 283 852 -12
3 Purdue 289-279-288 856 -8
4 Georgia Tech 290-289-282 861 -3
5 NC State 292-292-279 863 -1
T6 Texas 288-292-287 867 +3
T6 Virginia Tech 288-287-292 867 +3
T6 Oklahoma 284-294-289 867 +3
9 Georgia 289-288-292 869 +5
10 Okla State 294-285-292 871 +7
11 Ohio State 303-289-295 887 +23
12 UNCG 296-306-304 906 +42
T13 North Carolina 302-308-305 915 +51
T13 Michigan 306-309-300 915 +51
15 E Tenn State 306-316-302 924 +60
Catamounts Conclude Play at Wexford Invitational
Finish 14th overall, Poston leads WCU, Tying for a 38th Place Finish
After starting the day tied for ninth, Western Carolina's men's golf team wrapped up the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. on Tuesday with a final-round 316, finishing the tournament +70. Georgia State placed highest among the 17 schools that competed in the field (+28).
Freshman J.T. Poston was Western's top finisher as he tied for 38th after posting an 82 (+10) on Tuesday.
Jack Walsh posted the lowest round of the day for the Catamounts with a five-over 77. Walsh finished the tournament tied for 62nd, shooting 237.
Trey White finished just behind Walsh for the final round with a 78, placing tied for 49th with a score of 234. Greg Bunner finished one behind White in the overall scores, placing tied for 52nd after carding a final round 79.
In his first appearance as a Catamount, Scotland native, Steven Smith rounded out the WCU scores with a 241, tying for 77th overall.
Georgia State's Damon Stephenson fired consistent rounds of 72, 71 and 73 to top the individual leaderboard with a score of 216, followed by teammate Tyler Gruca who finished three strokes behind with a 219.
The Catamounts return to action Feb. 29 for The University Cup, Western Carolina's head-to-head, best ball match-up against rival Appalachian State. The tournament is held at Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton, N.C.
WESTERN CAROLINA RESULTS
14 Western Carolina U. 314 304 316 934
T 38 J.T. Poston 78 72 82 232
T 49 Trey White 79 77 78 234
T 52 Greg Bunner 78 78 79 235
T 62 Jack Walsh 79 81 77 237
T 77 Steven Smith 79 77 85 241
Elon Wraps Up Play at Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- A third round score of 302 helped the Elon Phoenix men's golf team to a three-round score of 943 (322-319-302) and a 16th-place showing at the Wexford Plantaion Intercollegiate on Tuesday.
The Phoenix was paced by the efforts of John Somers who ended the tournament in a tie for 28th among the 90 golfers in the field with a mark of 230 (81-74-75).
Two other Elon golfers posted final round scores of 75 - Tanner Norton and Blayze DiPasquale. Norton ended the tournament in a tie for 49th with a 234 (77-82-75) while DiPasquale shot a 238 (83-80-75) to place 66th.
In a tie for 77th was Stuart Kaufman who tallied a 241 (81-83-77) over his three rounds of play.
Jack Adkins competed in just one round of the tournament, carding an 81 on the final round.
Georgia State's Damon Stephenson's mark of 216 (72-71-73) earned him individual medalist honors.
Georgia State (297-294-301--892) also claimed the team title, edging out Furman (309-292-297--898) by six strokes. Davidson (303-295-305--903), Louisville (306-297-301--904) and Presbyterian (309-297-303--909) rounded out the top five teams in the 17-team field.
The Phoenix returns to play at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate in Aiken, S.C., March 5-6.