Five SoCon golfers named all-region
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Five Southern Conference men’s golfers earned Ping All-East Region honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America, it was announced this week.
Davidson’s Richard Fountain, Georgia Southern’s Scott Wolfes, Chattanooga’s Steven Fox and Chris Robb and Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston all earned spots on the all-region team.
A total of 155 players across six regions – Northeast, East, Southeast, Midwest, Central and West – earned all-region honors for 2013.
Fountain, who recently competed in his second NCAA Regional in three years, finished the season with a 73.8 stroke average, eight sub-par rounds, three top-five finishes and six top-10s.
A two-time all-conference selection, Fountain captured the 2011 Southern Conference individual title as a freshman.
As a team, Davidson concluded the season with a second-place finish at the 2013 SoCon Championship. In addition to their highest showing in 40 years, the Wildcats recorded a pair of team titles this season.
The Southern Conference Golfer of the Year and an all-SoCon selection for the second consecutive season, Wolfes won two tournaments, placed first or second in five events and posted seven top-10 finishes for the Eagles. The sophomore is the first Eagle to win SoCon Golfer of the Year honors since Logan Blondell in 2009.
Wolfes advanced to Sectional Qualifying, the final stage for U.S. Open hopefuls, by winning his local qualifying tournament May 13. He will play 36 holes at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ballground, Ga., June 3, for a chance to play in the 113th U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa.
Fox and Robb continue a strong run of honorees by the Mocs. This is the sixth consecutive season at least one UTC student-athlete has captured the award and the fifth with multiple Mocs on the squad. It is the second straight such honor for Fox, while Robb nets his first.
Fox joins Stephan Jaeger (2009-12) and Derek Rende (2007-10) as return all-region performers. Rende turned the trick three times – 2008, 2009 and 2010 – while Jaeger was among the top competitors in the East all four seasons teeing it up for Chattanooga.
The team leader in stroke average (72.50), Fox competed in nine of 11 events for UTC this year. His two misses were at the Brickyard Collegiate due to representing the United States capturing the Eisenhower Trophy at the 2012 World Team Amateur, and the Furman Intercollegiate for the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour in March. He was a three-time runner-up in his senior season with four total top-10s.
Robb posted a 73.52 scoring average, shooting the squad’s low round, a 6-under par 66. That came in the second round of his win at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate finishing at minus-9 (207). It was one of three top-10s on the year for the junior.
According to available research, Poston is just the second Catamount men’s golfer to earn all-region honors from PING, joining Matt Cook, who received the honor in 2008.
Poston’s seasonal scoring average of 72.19 not only led the Catamounts this season, but also ranked second in the Southern Conference in overall scoring average. His ledger ranked as the third-best single-season stroke average in school history. He recorded seven top-10 individual finishes, including a career-best showing in three consecutive weeks in the fall portion of the season. Placing in a tie for second-place at the NC State Wolfpack Intercollegiate in late October marked the best finish of his two-year WCU career, as he shot rounds of 74, 68 and 72 to culminate the three straight weeks of career finishes.
He closed the regular season by placing in a tie for 10th at the SoCon Championship for a second-consecutive season. A year after garnering all-freshman honors, Poston was named to the 2013 All-SoCon team for his play during the season and postseason tournament.
A product of Hickory, N.C., Poston became just the second Catamount men’s golfer all-time to earn an individual at-large bid into the NCAA regional tournament, finishing tied for 38th at the Tallahassee Regional at the Golden Eagle Country Club. It was the third-best showing by a Catamount golfer at a NCAA regional tournament in program history, while his three-round score of 3-over par 219 represents the second-lowest Catamount score all-time.