Samford finishes fourth, Aimone ties for first at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Samford University men’s golf team used a stellar performance from senior Drew Aimone on Sunday to vault from eighth to fourth place in the final standings of the 44th annual Furman Intercollegiate held at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club.
Samford finished play against the challenging, talent-laden 21-team field in fourth place and topped 44th-ranked Chattanooga by four strokes. The Bulldogs concluded the three-day, 54-hole competition with a final team score of 877 (297-289-291). Samford improved from 12th place all the way to fourth place in the last two rounds of competition.
Aimone carded a brilliant 5-under par 67 on Sunday and claimed a share of individual medalist honors along with Iowa State’s No. 24th-ranked Scott Fernandez. Both Aimone and Fernandez finished tied for first place out of 126 competitors with identical 54-hole scores of 7-under par 209.
Samford’s Aimone closed out the tournament shooting 8-under par in the final two rounds of play. He opened the three-day competition with a 73 but then consistently proved to get better with a 69 on Saturday and 67 on Sunday.
The Bulldogs’ Bill Nabors also posted a top-20 finish. Nabors, Samford’s senior native of Decatur, Ala., carded a 1-under par 71 on Sunday and finished the three-day tournament with a 54-hole score of 217 (76-70-71). With his stellar performance on the weekend, Nabors earned a 17th-place finish, his third-best of the season.
Rounding out Samford’s scores for the tournament Sunday were senior Casey O’Toole (74-74-75=223), sophomore Zach Hughes (74-76-78=228) and true freshman Chris Clouser (78-81-83=242).
Three of the 21 teams in the tournament were ranked among the top 50 in the nation and eight are among the top 100 teams in this week’s GolfWeek/Sagarin Rankings, led by No. 15 North Florida. The Ospreys’ Kevin Phelan in ranked No. 6 in the country and teammate MJ Maguire is ranked No. 35, while Iowa State’s Fernandez entered the week at No. 24.
Virginia Tech (280-286-277=843) earned a 19-stroke victory over second-place and 15th-ranked North Florida (284-286-292=862) on Sunday, while Troy finished third at 873 (293-286-294). Samford vaulted four positions to finish fourth behind the tournament’s second-best score of the third round. Only first-place Virginia Tech finished better than the Bulldogs’ 291 with a 277.
The Samford University men’s golf team will next be in action April 2-3 as the Bulldogs head to Jonesboro, Ark., for the 2013 Arkansas State Invitational.
Western Carolina finishes sixth at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Western Carolina sophomore J.T. Poston recorded his fifth top-five finish of the season, completing the 44th annual Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday afternoon in a tie for fourth place to lead the Catamounts to a sixth-place showing at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Course.
WCU carded a team 309 in the third round to shoot 16-over par 880 for the 54-hole tournament in recording its seventh top-10 team finish of the year.
Play was delayed two hours on Sunday morning due to heavy rain storms that moved through the South Carolina Upstate. Once the clouds lifted, teams played the final round in groups of four to get the final round in the books.
Poston played the front nine at even-par for a second straight round, countering a pair of bogeys with birdies on holes eight and nine before the turn. He was even through 11 holes, but shot bogey on three of his final seven holes to finish at 3-over 75.
Poston led the Catamounts with 13 birdies in the three-round event, finishing at 3-under par 213.
Opening his final round in fourth place after matching his career-low round of 69 on Saturday, senior Steven Smith struggled on the front nine on Sunday. The Kirknewton, Scotland, product bogeyed five of his front nine holes to turn at 5-over but scored par on the first six holes of the back nine. Two bogeys on the par-3 16th and par-4 17th left him at 7-over 79 for the round and 2-over par 218 for the event.
Jack Walsh advanced two spots on the final day to finish tied for 49th in the overall standings. Walsh overcame a double-bogey and bogey start, shooting 5-over on the front nine. However, the Lawrenceville, Ga., native rallied to come home 1-under on the back nine with three birdies against a pair of bogeys to shoot 4-over 76 and finish the event at 10-over 226.
Rounding out WCU’s side were redshirt senior Kyle Wilson in a tie for 58th at 227, while junior Greg Bunner advanced five spots in the final standings to finish tied for 72nd overall at 230. Wilson was even par through nine holes but concluded the tournament with five bogeys, three pars and just one birdie for 4-over 76 on Sunday. Bunner shot par on six straight holes after a bogey to start his final round, making the turn at 3-over par before finishing 5-over 77 for the round.
Virginia Tech claimed the event team championship by 19 strokes over second-place North Florida, 843-to-862. Troy finished third with a three-day total of 873, followed by Samford (877) and Iowa State (879). Other notables included Southern Conference foe Chattanooga – ranked 44th in the nation according to GolfStat – in seventh, one stroke in arrears of the Catamounts, with league foes Furman (908) and Wofford (911) finishing tied for 16th and 18th, respectively.
Samford’s Drew Aimone and Scott Fernandez from Iowa State shared the individual medalist honors, both shooting 7-under par 209. Aimone posted a low round of 67 on Sunday to rally from an eighth-place tie to share the title.
Western Carolina’s men’s golf team returns to action this Thursday as it teams with the Catamount women’s squad against archrival Appalachian State for the University Cup. It is the third straight season for the co-ed, head-to-head competition held at the Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton, N.C. WCU won the first-ever event in 2011, 3.5-to-2.5, with the Mountaineers winning a season ago, 6-1.
Chattanooga finishes seventh at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team finished seventh at the Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday. UTC shot 9-over par 297 at Furman Golf Course for a 54-hole total of 881, which is one stroke behind Western Carolina in sixth at 880.
Junior Davis Bunn tied for 18th to lead the Mocs’ effort. He shot rounds of 71, 72 and 75 for a 2-over par 218. Bunn ended up two strokes clear of fellow junior Benni Weilguni, who tied for 24th at 220, shooting 72, 74 and 74.
Sophomore Liam Johnston was another two back of Weilguni, tying for 33rd at 222. He carded scores of 73, 75 and 74. Senior Alex Ratliff tied Weilguni and Johnston for the low round by a Moc on Sunday with a 2-over par 74. He shot 233, two strokes ahead of junior Chris Robb at 235.
Virginia Tech ran away with the team title, beating runner-up No. 17 UNF by 19 shots. The Hokies’ 11-under par 277 Sunday gave them a total of 843 (-21) for the win. Scott Fernandez (Iowa State) and Drew Aimone (Samford) tied for medalist honors at minus-7 (209) as Aimone came back from five shots down with a 67 Sunday for the tie.
Chattanooga is off until April 1 when it heads to the Reunion Intercollegiate on April 1-2 in Jackson, Miss.
Furman finishes tied for 16th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Virginia Tech used a final-round 277 to pull away from the pack and claim its fifth Furman Intercollegiate title at 21-under par on Sunday at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club.
The final round of the 54-hole tournament was delayed until 10:30 a.m. by heavy rains in the Greenville, S.C., area and 18 golfers playing as individuals where trimmed from the field to allow the final 18 holes to be completed before dark.
Mikey Moyers (-6) paced the Hokies to a 19-stroke victory over second place North Florida (-2) with a final-round 67 to claim third place at 6-under par while teammates Scott Vincent and Maclain Huge each carded a 3-under 69 on Sunday. Troy (+9), Samford (+13) and Iowa State (+15) rounded out the top five in the 21-team field.
Scott Fernandez of Iowa State and Drew Aimone of Samford shared individual medalist honors at 7-under par. Fernandez, the second round co-leader, held on to a share of the lead with a 72 on Sunday and Aimone climbed into the top spot with a 5-under 67.
Senior Anthony Aloi (-1) shot a 72 on Sunday to grab a share of 10th place and help Furman (+44) to a share of 16th place.
Wofford finishes 18th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford men's golf team completed play on Sunday afternoon in the 44th annual Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club. The Terriers finished 296-306-309=911 and were plus-47 over the three rounds to finish 18th overall.
Virginia Tech claimed its fifth Furman Intercollegiate title, while Samford’s Drew Aimone and Iowa State’s Scott Fernandez shared individual medalist honors at 7-under for the tournament.
Wofford was led by Charles Moore with a 77-72-75=244 to tie for 42nd overall. Cory Taylor fired a 74-79-79=232 and he was tied by Brannon Hudson at 72-77-83=232. One shot back were Stuart McGoogan with a 76-83-74=233 and Grant Waggoner 74-78-81=233.
Wofford will be back on the course on April 14-15 as it hosts the Coca-Cola Invitational at the Country Club of Spartanburg.
Appalachian State tied for fourth before play suspended at C&F Bank Intercollegiate
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Due to snowy conditions in the Williamsburg area, Appalachian State was only able to record nine holes on Sunday’s opening round of the C&F Bank Intercollegiate at Kingsmill Resort.
Play will resume on Monday, beginning at 8 a.m. and pending weather. With only 16 teams completing Sunday’s round, the Mountaineers currently sit tied for fourth with Radford at 6-over. James Madison, who also did not complete the round, sits in first, while No. 27-ranked Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky are even in second place. The Volunteers are the only team within the top five who completed the first round.
Through the first nine holes, graduate student Daniel Walsh leads the Appalachian lineup, firing a 35 (E), while junior Casey Komline and freshman Lee Mitchell tightly follow with matching 36s (+1).
Rounding out the Mountaineer scoring was senior Josh Nichols with a 39 (+4) and redshirt senior Drew Harris, who carded a 43 (+8).
The field of 32 teams and 164 players makes for the largest tournament the Mountaineers have faced all season.
UNCG tied for 21st before play suspended at C&F Bank Intercollegiate
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – UNCG sophomore golfer Roy Dixon fired an even-par 70 in a weather-shortened round one of the 33rd annual C&F Bank Intercollegiate hosted by William & Mary at the Kingsmill Resort and famed River Course on SUnday. The Spartans played their round during the morning wave in cold weather and rain before the afternoon wave was suspended due to heavy snow on the Williamsburg area.
Only 16 of the 32 teams finished the first round due to the snow event. The remaining 16 teams are slated to tee off Monday morning and finish round one before starting round two. The Spartans are scheduled to tee off in the afternoon wave between 1:05-1:49 p.m.
Dixon posted three birdies and three bogeys in his first round to finish at even par as he was 2-under par through 11 holes but notched two bogeys on the final three holes as the weather started to go downhill rapidly. As a team, the Spartans posted a 296 in the first round to sit in a tie for 21st overall but are ninth among the 16 teams that turned in a complete round score.
Sophomore Alex Ehlert posted a 3-over par 73 Sunday and sits in a tie for 48th overall in the individual standings. Ehlert posted three birdies on the afternoon but turned in six bogeys. Senior Robert Hoadley carded a 5-over par 75 to sit in tied for 95th place as he post two birdies on the last four holes of the day.
The 32-team tournament includes host William & Mary, Appalachian State, Binghamton, Boston College, Bowling Green, Bucknell, Drake, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Florida State, George Mason, Georgetown, High Point, IPFW, James Madison, Longwood, Loyola (Md.), Marquette, Michigan, Mount St. Mary's, Notre Dame, Radford, Richmond, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, St. Peter's, Tennessee, Toledo, Towson, Wright State and Xavier.
The River Course at the Kingsmill Resort hosted the PGA Michelob Open for several decades and has hosted the LPGA for the past decade.
Darkness halts Seahawk Invitational
WILMINGTON, N.C. – After rain delayed the start of the 2013 Seahawk Intercollegiate hosted by UNCW, the opening round was halted due to darkness and will resume Monday at 8 a.m. Originally scheduled for 54 holes, the annual event has been shortened to 36 holes. Davidson is participating in the tournament.