SAMFORD MEN'S GOLF EARNS NINE-STROKE VICTORY AT SAMFORD INTERCOLLEGIATE
--- The Bulldogs' O'Toole wins the individual title with a three-round score of 5-under-par 211 ---
HOOVER, Ala. --- The Samford University men's golf team registered its second Samford Intercollegiate championship title in three seasons Tuesday as the Bulldogs cruised to a nine-stroke victory at the highly-acclaimed 7,001-yard, par-72 Hoover Country Club.
Samford closed out the three-round, two-day competition with a total team score of 882 (291-288-303), while Austin Peay and Davidson both finished tied for second place at 891.
Tuesday's championship title marked Samford's second in three seasons. In 2010, the Bulldogs also won the Samford Intercollegiate as it out-dueled nationally-ranked Vanderbilt at Limestone Springs Golf Course.
The Bulldogs' Casey O'Toole tallied Individual Medalist honors in 2010, and added another championship title to his list Tuesday by compiling a two-stroke victory over second-place competitors Dustin Korte and Richard Fountain. O'Toole finished the 54-hole tournament with a 5-under-par 211 (73-66-72), while Korte and Fountain both carded three-round scores of 891.
O'Toole's second-round score of 66 proved to be the best round of the tournament and is the currently the low-mark round in Hoover Country Club history.
Samford's Drew Aimone also tallied a top-five finish Tuesday. The Bulldogs' junior native of Savannah, Ga., earned a tie for fifth place with a three-round score of 219 (71-73-75). Samford's Bill Nabors turned in a solid tournament this week and carded a 54-hole mark of 228 (76-77-75).
The Bulldogs' Gabe Hyde concluded the 2012 Samford Intercollegiate with a 54-hole score of 230 (71-74-85), while Zach Hughes added a 236 (80-75-81) and William Catanzaro posted a three-round mark of 238 (77-79-82).
The field of this week's 2012 Samford Intercollegiate consisted of the following teams: Samford (host), Air Force, Austin Peay, Belmont, Davidson, Eastern Kentucky, Evansville, Houston Baptist, Illinois State, Murray State, Nicholls State, Sam Houston State, SIU Edwardsville, Southern Illinois, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee Tech, Western Carolina and Winthrop.
Following Samford's first-place finish and Austin Peay and Davidson tying for the second-place position, Sam Houston State, Winthrop and Western Carolina rounded out the top five. Sam Houston State earned sole possession of fourth place, while Winthrop and Western Carolina tied for the fifth spot.
The Samford University men's golf team will next be in action March 16-18, as the Bulldogs head to Greenville, S.C., for the three-day 2012 Furman Intercollegiate to be held at the heralded Furman Golf Course.
Davidson, Fountain Place Second at Samford Intercollegiate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sophomore Richard Fountain finished second individually and led Davidson to a second place finish at the Samford Intercollegiate Tuesday at the 7,001-yard, par-72 Hoover Country Club.
Fountain finished two strokes behind individual medalist Casey O'Toole (Samford) at 213, three-under par (73+67+73), tying Dustin Korte of Austin Peay. Junior John Skeadas and sophomore Sam Echikson also placed in the Top 10 at 221, five-over par.
Davidson tied with Austin Peay for second place with a three-round score of 891 (298+289+304). Tournament-host Samford won by nine strokes (882).
The Wildcats will next compete Mar. 31- Apr. 1 when they co-host the Irish Creek Collegiate at the Irish Creek Country Club in nearby Kannapolis.
Brown Helps Furman To Sixth Place Finish At Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate
Aiken, S.C. - Junior Matt Brown fired a final round 69 to lift the Furman men's golf team to a sixth place on Tuesday in the 15th Annual Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at the par-70, 6,617-yard Palmetto Golf Club.
Brown used his one-under par final round to climb into a tie for 31st as Furman (+33) jumped three spots over the final 18 holes. Senior Matt Broome (+5) carded a two-over 72 to secure a share of seventh place while fellow senior Austin Reeves (+7) captured a 14th place finish with a third round 72. Senior J.B. Murphy (+19) posted his best round of the 54-hole tournament on Tuesday with a three-over 73.
Clemson (+14) claimed the tournament title with a final round 283 to finish one stroke ahead of second place Virginia (+15) and nine strokes in front of third place South Carolina (+23). Liberty University and East Carolina rounded out the top five in the 18-team field.
The Cavaliers' Ben Kohles (-2) captured individual medalist honors at two-under par after carding a one-under 69 on Tuesday. Kohles finished a stroke ahead of Crawford Reeves (-1) of Clemson and four strokes ahead of his Virginia teammate Ben Rusch (+2).
The Paladins return to action March 11-12, at the General Hackler Championship in Pawley's Island, S.C.
6 Furman 286 301 286 873
T7 Matt Broome 70 73 72 215
T14 Austin Reeves 70 75 72 217
T31 Matt Brown 75 77 69 221
T56 Greg Carrier 71 76 79 226
T70 J.B. Murphy 78 78 73 229
Cougars Finish Eighth at Palmetto Intercollegiate
AIKEN, S.C. - Senior Henry Smart fired a final round 1-under 69 to lead the College of Charleston men's golf team in the final round of the 2012 Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at the Palmetto Golf Club Tuesday.
The Cougars shot a combined team score of 290 on the last day and finished with rounds of 297-288-290=875 (+35) for eighth-place. CofC finished eight shots back of fourth-place and one stroke back of the defending national champion Augusta State golf team. Clemson won the tournament by shooting a 14-over 854 combined team score.
Smart finished the tournament 7-over with rounds of 75-73-69=217 and tied for 14th place individually. Fellow senior Seth Stuart also tied for 14th place with rounds of 73-70-74=217.
Freshman Shane Rogan continued his steady play as he tied for 21st place with rounds of 72-72-74=218.
Junior Neil Gowan shot 73 on the final day and finished tied for 45th at 14-over. John Duke Hudson finished the tournament with a final round 76 and 20-over 230 combined score.
Next up, the Cougars travel to Austin, Texas, March 16-17 for the Morris Williams Invitational, hosted by Texas at the UT Golf Club.
8 Charleston, Coll. of 297 288 290 875
T 14 Seth Stuart 73 70 74 217
T 14 Henry Smart 75 73 69 217
T 21 Shane Rogan 72 72 74 218
T 45 Neil Gowan 77 74 73 224
T 74 John Duke Hudson 81 73 76 230
1 Clemson University 286 285 283 854 +14
2 Virginia, U. of 292 278 285 855 +15
3 South Carolina 286 284 293 863 +23
4 Liberty University 291 290 286 867 +27
5 East Carolina Univ. 290 285 293 868 +28
6 Furman University 286 301 286 873 +33
7 Augusta State U. 299 282 293 874 +34
8 Charleston, Coll. of 297 288 290 875 +35
9 Chattanooga 294 289 294 877 +37
10 Vanderbilt Univ. 298 293 297 888 +48
11 Akron, U. of 299 293 299 891 +51
12 Presbyterian College 305 293 298 896 +56
South Carolina-Aiken 295 295 306 896 +56
14 Maryland, U. of 302 297 306 905 +65
15 Francis Marion U. 305 295 306 906 +66
16 Georgia Southern U. 313 294 300 907 +67
17 Wofford College 322 295 300 917 +77
18 Elon University 308 300 313 921 +81
Chattanooga Ends up Ninth at Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate
Steven Fox was low for the Mocs tying for 14th at 217
AIKEN, S.C. --- The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team finished ninth at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate. UTC shot a final round 294 for a 54-hole total of 877.
Today's 294 came from Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.), Stephan Jaeger (Munich, Germany), Liam Johnston (Dumfries, Scotland) and Alex Ratliff (Kingsport, Tenn.). Fox led the way with a 71 (+1) followed by Jaeger and Johnston at 73 (+3). Ratliff rounded out the team score with a 77 (+7).
Fox was one of one of seven golfers tied for 14th at 217 (+7). That was one better than Jaeger at 218, tied for 21st. Johnston and Ratliff wound up tied for 40th at 223. Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) was four shots behind that duo at 227.
"It was a disappointing two days," said head coach Mark Guhne. "We didn't get that low score each round we needed. It's time to get back to work and prepare for the next event."
Clemson captured the team title shooting 854. The Tigers edged Virginia by one shot. South Carolina was third at 863.
Ben Kohles (Virginia) and Crawford Reeves (Clemson) entered the final round tied for the lead. The duo dueled to the end with Kohles winning by a shot with a final round 69 (-1) over Reeves' 70. Kohles shot two-under par 208 to Reeves' 209. Ben Rusch (Virginia) was third at two-over 212.
The Mocs return to the tee on March 18-20 for the Collegiate Match Play presented by Callaway. The event is played at the Concessions Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
MOCS:
T14) Steven Fox 75-71-71 217 (+7)
T21) Stephan Jaeger 71-74-73 218 (+8)
T40) Liam Johnston 74-76-73 223 (+13)
T40) Alex Ratliff 74-72-77 223 (+13)
T61) Davis Bunn 77-72-78 227 (+17)
Eagles Wrap Up Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational
Aiken, S.C. - Georgia Southern Golf finished 16th Tuesday in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational. The Eagles shot 907, landing them at plus 67 for the 54-hole tournament. Clemson shot 854, plus 14, to take home first place. The Tigers shot 283 in the last round to overtake South Carolina and Virginia, who tied for first after day one.
Lewis Gruber (Tallahassee, Fla.) led the way for Georgia Southern tying for 35th. Gruber shot a 69 in the final round to go 222 for the tournament, plus twelve. After dropping a hole-in-one Monday on hole 16 in the second round, Blake Olson (Pensacola, Fla.) shot a 78 in the final round, putting him at 227 for the tournament, tying for 61st. Scott Wolfes(St. Simons, Island, Ga.) tied for 70th, shooting 229 for the tournament, plus 19. Zach Hartman (St. Simons Island, Ga.) and Charlie Martin (LaGrange, Ga.) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles. Hartman placed 77th shooting plus 21, and Martin shot plus 28 to tie for 85th.
Ben Kohles took home top individual honors for the tournament. Kohles shot 208 for the tournament, minus two.
Next up for the Eagles is the 33rd Annual Schenkel Invitational. The Schenkel will be held March 16-18 at the Forest Heights Country Club.
Wofford Completes The Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational in 17th
AIKEN, S.C. -- The Wofford College men's golf team finished The Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational at the par-70, 6,617-yard Palmetto Golf Club in 17th place with a team score of 305-295-300-917.
Wofford finished four shots ahead of SoCon foe Elon, 921, while Clemson won the team title with a score of 286-285-283-854.
Chandler Brazeal paced the Terriers with a 75-72-74-221 in 31st place, while Branna Hudson fired a 79-73-72-224 good enough for 45th. Mark Joye carded an 85-77-74-236, while Cory Taylor followed with an 83-73-83--239, Charles Moore entered the clubhouse with an 85-80-80-245.
Virginia's Ben Kohles took the individual title with a 69-70-69-208.
Wofford will return to the links with the Bash at the Beach Collegiate Invitational on March 11 through March 13.
Norton Top Elon Finisher at Palmetto Intercollegiate
AIKEN, S.C. -- Competing against some of the top competition the country has to offer, the Elon Phoenix men's golf program finished the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate with a three-round score of 921 (308-300-313) to place 18th.
The field featured nine NCAA Division I teams that are ranked in the top 90 nationally, including 13th-rated Clemson which won the title with a score of 854 (286-285-283).
In the 90-golfer field, Elon's Tanner Norton finished in a tie for 56th with a mark of 226 (75-76-75). He was closely followed by Blayze DiPasquale who shot a 228 (74-75-79) to tie for 65th.
John Somers fired a 234 (79-73-82) to place in a tie for 81st. Elon's Jack Adkins tallied a 238 (80-81-77) over his three rounds of play to finish tied for 85th.
Finally, Stuart Kaufman's three-round mark of 241 (83-76-82) had him 89th.
Virginia's Ben Kohles won the individual title thanks to shooting a two-under par 208 (69-70-69).
The rest of the top five consisted of No. 35 Virginia (292-278-285--855), No. 69 South Carolina (286-284-293--863), No. 34 Liberty (291-290-286--867) and No. 45 East Carolina (290-285-293--868).
The four other ranked programs in the field were No. 50 Augusta State (7th, 299-282-293--874), No. 27 Chattanooga (9th, 294-289-294--877), No. 80 Vanderbilt (10th, 298-293-297--888) and No. 87 Georgia Southern (16th, 313-294-300-907).
Elon will next compete in the Furman Intercollegiate which begins on March 16 in Greenville, S.C.