Western Carolina fourth, Poston tied for lead at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Western Carolina has two golfers inside the top 10 and three in the top 25 to sit in fourth place in the overall team standings, just seven strokes off the lead after the opening round of the 44th annual Furman Intercollegiate held Friday at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club.
Second-round play is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday with the final round slated for Sunday morning. WCU is among the last pairings off the front nine with tee times ranging from 1 p.m. through 1:40 p.m.
Sophomore J.T. Poston is amidst a four-way tie for the individual lead after shooting a 4-under 68 in the opening round, while senior teammate Steven Smith is tied with three others in seventh with a 2-under par 70 to lead the Catamounts. The duo is tied for second in the tournament with six birdies apiece.
Collectively, WCU carded its lowest round of the spring season at 1-under 287.
Opening on the back nine, Poston carded three birdies through his first six holes before a bogey on the par-3 16th to make the turn at 2-under par. He matched his front nine with three birdies on the back, bogeying the par-4 seventh to again shoot 2-under for a total of 4-under par 68.
Smith’s round was equally as uniform with three birdies and two bogeyss a side for the Kirknewton, Scotland, native. He was twice at 3-under for his round before scoring bogey on two of his final three holes of the day.
In his first tournament action of the month, junior Jack Walsh fired a 1-over par 73 to stand tied for 23rd entering the second round. Walsh countered a pair of back-nine bogeys with two birdies on the front to stand even with two holes to play. However, he bogeyed the par-3 eighth to finish at 1-over, his lowest round of the season.
Rounding out WCU’s side is senior Kyle Wilson in a tie for 58th at 4-over 76 and junior Greg Bunner in a tie for 82nd overall at 6-over 78. Wilson turned at 2-over and moved back to within a stroke of par with a birdie on the par-4 first hole. However, he carded bogey on three of his final eight holes to finish 4-over.
Bunner settled after four bogeys in his first seven holes, moving to within two strokes of par with four holes to play. However, the Gastonia, N.C., product finished bogey, bogey and double-bogey for the 6-over for the round.
Joining Poston atop the individual leader board is Trevor Cone of Virginia Tech, Troy’s Jake Tucker and North Florida’s M.J. Maquire, the 31st-ranked golfer according to the latest GolfStat rankings. Combined, 16 golfers broke par on Friday and are within four strokes of the overall lead.
With three individuals inside the top 10, Virginia Tech holds a four-stroke lead over second-place North Florida, which entered the tournament ranked 17th by GolfStat. The Hokies shot 280 in the opening round, while North Florida carded a team 284. Winthrop is third at 285, two strokes ahead of the Catamounts in fourth at 287 with Southern Conference foe – and the 44th-ranked team in the nation – Chattanooga in fifth, three strokes behind WCU.
Other notables including SoCon foes Wofford (296) in 11th followed by Samford (297) and tournament host Furman in a tie for 16th after opening-round 305s.
Round two is scheduled for 8 a.m. tee times on Saturday.
Chattanooga fifth at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team is fifth after round one at the Furman Intercollegiate. UTC shot 2-over par 290 on the 6,994-yard Furman Golf Course and is 10 shots behind leader Virginia Tech.
Davis Bunn led the Mocs with a 1-under par 71. He had four birdies and an eagle. His eagle came on the 12th hole, his third of the day, where he holed out with a pitching wedge from 140 yards. Bunn is tied for 10th, three strokes off the lead.
Benni Weilguni is a shot behind Bunn at 72. His level-par card included a team-high five birdies. Liam Johnston is one off of Weilguni’s pace at 73. He posted four straight birdies to turn around a slow start to his day.
Alex Ratliff rounded out the counting scores with a 74 (+2). Chris Robb had the drop score with a 78. Kory Webb is playing as an individual and also turned in a 78.
Virginia Tech leads No. 17 North Florida by four shots. The Hokies fired an 8-under par 280, while the Ospreys turned in a 284. Winthrop is third at 285 (-3). Four are tied for the individual lead at 4-under 68, including Trevor Cone (VT), M.J. Maguire (UNF), J.T. Poston (Western Carolina) and Jake Tucker (Troy).
Saturday’s second round starts at 8 a.m. for the Mocs. Paired again with Furman and Samford, Robb leads off, followed by Ratliff (8:10), Johnston (8:20), Weilguni (8:30) and Bunn (8:40).
Furman tied for 16th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Virginia Tech’s Trevor Cone forged a four-way tie for first place with a four-under 68 to lead the Hokies to a four-shot lead after 18 holes of the 44th Annual Furman Intercollegiate on Friday at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club. Furman is tied for 16th place following a 17-over 305 on Friday.
Four Hokies played the opening round at par or better to guide Virginia Tech to a first-round 280 and four-stroke advantage over second place North Florida (-4). Winthrop (-3), Western Carolina (-1) and Chattanooga (+2) rounded out the top five after one round in the 21-team field.
North Florida’s MJ Maquire, Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston and Troy’s Jake Ticker matched Cone’s first round 68 to share the lead.
Senior Anthony Aloi paced the host Paladins with an even-par 72. The New Jersey native totaled five birdies to grab a share of 17th place, while Furman’s Johnny Kyger, playing as an individual, shot a first-round 73 to hold a share of 23rd place.
Second round play is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday with the final round slated for Sunday morning.