Wofford wins Hummingbird Intercollegiate
SAPPHIRE, N.C. – The Wofford College men’s golf team shot the low round of the day, overcoming a four-stroke, final-round deficit to win the Hummingbird Intercollegiate at 8-over-par 860 Tuesday from the Country Club of Sapphire Valley.
Heading into Tuesday’s final round, Wofford was tied for third at 6-over par, one stroke back of second-place Belmont and four back of leader Appalachian State. The Terriers shot a final-round 2-over-par 286, eight strokes better than App State’s 10-over 294, leaping both the Mountaineers and the Bruins to claim their second tournament title of the fall season.
Senior Brent McKenzie took Wofford’s best individual finish of the tournament, carding a three-round total of 1-over-par 214 to tie for third place. After posting a 2-over 73 in the first round and a 2-under 69 in the second round, the senior came in with a 1-over on his final round. McKenzie’s day started with three consecutive birdies, but bogeys on Nos. 4 and 9 and a double-bogey on No. 7 gave him a 1-over 37 at the turn. Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 followed, but McKenzie regrouped and birdied No. 14 and the closing par-4, 480-yard 18th to claim third place.
Senior George Perkovich shot Wofford’s low round of the day, posting a 2-under-par 69 to lead the final-round charge. Perkovich birdied and bogeyed a hole each on the front to make the turn on even-par and then carded three birdies and a bogey on the back nine for his 2-under round. Perkovich finished with a three-round total of 3-over-par 216, tying for 10th place.
Junior Brannan Hudson and freshman Andrew Novak also tied for 10th at 3-over for the tournament. Hudson shot a 1-over 72 on Tuesday, recovering from three bogeys on a 2-over front nine to go bogey free with one birdie on the back. Novak shot a final-round 3-over 73 but was as high as 4-over par with four bogeys and no birdies through 13 holes. Novak then fired back-to-back birdies on the par-5, 482-yard 14th and par-4, 410-yard 15th, and parred the three remaining holes to claim his second top-10 of the season.
Senior Chandler Brazeal earned a tie for 17th at 6-over-par 219. Brazeal shot a 2-over 74 on Tuesday, including three birdies, three bogeys and a double on the long par-4, 453-yard fourth hole.
Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston took the individual title, carding a three-round total of 9-under-par 204. Poston shot a 4-under 67 on Tuesday and was under par in each of his three rounds.
The win concluded Wofford’s 2013 fall season. The Terriers are back in action Feb. 17-18, beginning the spring season in Hilton Head, S.C., at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate.
Appalachian State finishes second at Hummingbird Intercollegiate
SAPPHIRE, N.C. – Appalachian State took second place at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate hosted by Western Carolina on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers led the field after two rounds but carded a final-round 294 to Wofford’s 286. The Terriers won the tournament at 8-over-par with Appalachian State finishing 12-over-par.
John Michael Cole led Appalachian overall, finishing in a tie for seventh. Cole shot a third-round 73 for a total of 215, which was good for 2-over par. Finishing in a tie for 10th was Casey Komline, who shot a final-round 72 for a tournament total of 216 and was 3-over par for the tournament.
Lee Mitchell finished 15th individually with a final-round score of 74 with a 217 overall. Mitchell finished 4-over par. Eric Eberspeaker finished tied for 30th with a total score of 222. Eberspeaker shot a final-round 75 to finish 9-over par for the tournament. Finishing in a tie for 35th was Caleb Keck, who carded a final-round 76, bringing his tournament total to 225 and 12-over par.
The Mountaineers have finished their fall slate and will begin their championship season on March 10 when they host the Bash at the Beach in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., at The Surf Golf and Beach Club.
Poston wins, Western Carolina ties for fifth at Hummingbird Intercollegiate
SAPPHIRE, N.C. – On the strength of a school-record 54-hole score of 204, Western Carolina junior J.T. Poston claimed his third individual medalist honors of the season by winning the 2013 Hummingbird Intercollegiate at The Country Club of Sapphire Valley. Southern Conference foe Wofford took home top team honors at the tournament, edging Appalachian State by four strokes and rallying past Belmont by six on the par-71, 6,767-yard course.
The host Catamounts finished tied for fifth place in their final event of the fall portion of its 2013-14 schedule. It was WCU’s second top-five finish of the fall season.
Poston improved upon his daily scores each round en route to a six-stroke victory over runner-up Clement Kurniawan of Gardner-Webb.
On Tuesday, Poston made the turn at 2-under par with a birdie on the par-4 ninth. He then made it three birdies in a row with back-to-back scores of 1-under on Nos. 10 and 11 to move to 4-under par. After a bogey on No. 12, the Hickory, N.C., native moved to 5-under with two more birdies on the 14th and 15th before finishing his round with a bogey on No. 18.
Poston shared the previous school benchmark at 205 carded in the season-opening event at the GolfWeek Program Challenge, which matched former record holder Andres Cuenca, who fired his three-round 205 at the Aldila Intercollegiate in Chattanooga, Tenn., in the fall of 2008. Poston also became just the second Catamount to win three tournaments in one portion of a season, matching Matt Cook, who claimed medalist honors in three straight back in the fall of 2006.
Western Carolina sophomore Tyler Lail finished in a tie for 21st overall at 7-over 220, his career-best 54-hole tournament score, with rounds of 73, 73 and 74. Lail, who paced the tournament with 39 pars, fell to 3-over par through the first three holes of his final round on Tuesday with a double-bogey and bogey on holes 2 and 3. However, he birdied the par-4 ninth to make the turn at 2-over, where he remained until a bogey on No. 15 left him at 3-over for the round.
Catamount senior Jack Walsh (221) finished tied for 27th in his final appearance at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate, capping his tourney with a 4-over par 75.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five, redshirt junior Collin Witiak shot 1-over par 72 on the final day to finish tied for 37th at 226, with senior Greg Bunner finishing tied for 41st overall, matching his second-round 3-over 74 on the final day to turn in a 228 for the event.
Playing unattached, Catamount junior Matthew Turner finished tied for 17th overall with his career-low 54-hole score of 219. The Hickory, N.C., product posted rounds of 74, 73 and 1-over par 72 on Tuesday to rank as the highest finishing individual.
Also playing as individuals, WCU’s Alex Simmons placed in a tie for 21st at 220 in his Catamount debut, with freshmen Nont Panayanggool (35th-t, 225) and Evan Smith (44th, 229) also seeing action with Smith recording his career-low 54-hole tournament score.
Western Carolina does not return to competitive action until the first weekend of March for its first of two consecutive trips to the state of Alabama. The Catamounts travel to the Samford Intercollegiate at the Hoover Country Club on March 3-4, 2014. A week later, WCU will play in a tough Tiger Invitational field, hosted by Auburn at Grand National in Opelika, Ala.
Samford finishes seventh at Hummingbird Intercollegiate
SAPPHIRE, N.C. – The Samford University men’s golf team completed its 2013 fall schedule Tuesday with a seventh-place finish at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate, which was hosted by Western Carolina University at the par-71, 6,767-yard Country Club of Sapphire Valley.
Samford posted a final team score of 298 on Tuesday and completed the three-day tournament with a 54-hole total of 875 (291-286-298). The Bulldogs finished just five strokes behind both Western Carolina and Gardner-Webb and six strokes behind fourth-place Tennessee Tech.
Individually, Samford true freshman Garrett Moores earned a top-10 finish and completed the tournament with a final score of 3-over-par 216. On Friday, the Bulldogs’ native of Huntsville, Ala., closed out play with a third-round mark of 2-over-par 73.
Zach Hughes, Samford’s junior from Mobile, Ala., carded a 3-over-par 74 on Tuesday and finished the 54-hole competition tied for 17th place in the individual standings. Following Hughes, the Bulldogs’ William Catanzaro and Chris Clouser both completed the Hummingbird Intercollegiate in 21st place.
Samford senior Catanzaro posted a third-round tally of 75 on Tuesday, while Clouser closed out the tournament with a 5-over-par 76. The Bulldogs’ true freshman Austin Jackson rounded out the team’s scoring with a final tally of 236.
Wofford rallied to win the team title of the Hummingbird Intercollegiate by carding a third-round score of 286 on Tuesday. By posting the lowest score of the day, the Terriers finished with a three-day score of 860 (294-280-286) and streaked by second-place Appalachian State (287-283-294) for the tournament championship. Belmont placed third with a final team total of 866 (283-290-293).
Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston, the seventh-ranked player in the nation, fired a 4-under-par 67 on Tuesday and cruised to individual medalist honors by six strokes over Gardner-Webb’s Clement Kurniawan. Poston concluded the tournament with a 54-hole total of 9-under-par 204 (69-68-67), while Kurniawan finished with a 3-under-par 210 (75-66-69).
The 2013 Hummingbird Intercollegiate was Samford’s final competition of the fall season. Following the Christmas break, the Bulldogs will next be in action Feb. 17-18, as they begin their spring season at the 2014 Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, which will be hosted by the University of South Alabama at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course.
Elon finishes 11th at Wendy’s Kiawah Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Playing its final event of the fall, the Elon men's golf team wrapped up play by finishing 11th out of 18 teams at the 2013 Wendy's Kiawah Classic on Tuesday. The Phoenix posted a three-round score of 905 (300-298-307).
Elon's top finisher was Jack Adkins, who shot a 222 (71-73-78) over his three rounds of play. Adkins' performance placed him in a tie for 16th out of 96 players.
The Phoenix's low round of the final round belonged to Jeff Krieger, who carded a 71 on his way to a three-round score of 228. Krieger placed in a tie for 41st.
With a mark of 230 (80-74-76), John Somers finished in a tie for 54th. He was followed by Will DiIanni, who tied for 62nd with a 232 (75-74-83), and Raphael Higuet, who shot a 238 (79-77-82) to place in a tie for 78th.
Marquette's Nick Nelson claimed medalist honors after shooting a 6-under 210 (70-67-73).
No. 28 South Carolina led throughout to earn the team crown with a score of 864 (283-286-295). The top five also included Marquette (886), No. 51 Winthrop (887), No. 44 Missouri (888) and Presbyterian (890).
The Phoenix finished one stroke back of No. 54 Minnesota (904).
Georgia Southern finishes sixth at Eagle/Osprey Collegiate
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Scott Wolfes backed up his second-round 70 with a 1-under-par 71 to lead the Georgia Southern golf team to a team score of 298 and a sixth-place finish at the Eagle/Osprey Intercollegiate at Deerwood Country Club Tuesday afternoon.
It was another windy and rainy day on the course. Wolfes’ third-round total was the third-lowest of the day and one of six under par, as the junior tied for second, his best finish of the season. Tulsa’s Logan McCraken eagled the par-5 18th to post a 68, the best score of the day, and took the individual medalist honors with a 5-under 211.
Vanderbilt took the team title after shooting a 293 to finish 12-over. Tulsa fired a 289 to jump from sixth to second (+20), and Mercer placed third (+25). Troy and Southeastern Louisiana tied for fourth (+26), followed by the Eagles (+28).
After shooting a 39 on the front nine, Wolfes posted four birdies and five pars on the back and birdied 18 to finish with an even-par three-round total of 216. He tied with Vanderbilt’s Matthias Schwab.
Charlie Martin carded a 74 for a total of 224 (+8) and tied for 20th, while Christian Humber shot a 73 for a 225 (+9) to tie for 23rd. Will Evans and Hayden Anderson each shot an 80 Tuesday.
Individuals Henry Mabbett and Matthew Mierzejewski had nice showings for the Eagles. Mabbett shot 76 and finished with a 224 (+8) to tie for20th, and Mierzejewski carded a 77 for a total of 225 (+9), tying for 23rd. Sam Towler posted a 77 Tuesday.
The tournament capped the fall season for the Eagles. Georgia Southern picks it back up in the spring when it travels to the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., Feb. 15-16.
Furman finishes 13th at Eagle/Osprey Collegiate
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore Preston Cole (+8) fired a 71 to pace Furman on Tuesday in the final round of the Eagle/Osprey Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7,223-yard Deerwood Country Club.
Cole concluded the tournament tied for 20th place, 13 strokes behind Tulsa’s Logan McCraken (-5), who shot a 68 in the final round to earn individual medalist honors. Vanderbilt (+12) held on for an eight-stroke win over Tulsa (+20), while Mercer (+25) rounded out the top three teams.
Sophomore Wehman Hopke (+14) placed in a tie for 46th with a third-round 81, while junior Michael Borton (+20) shot a 78 on Tuesday to finish the tournament tied with sophomore Preston Heyward (+20) for 72nd. Freshman Bryce Howell tied for 76th with a final-round 80.
The tournament concluded the fall season for Furman. The Paladins will open the 2014 spring season Feb. 23-25 at the John Hayt Intercollegiate in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.