WCU’s Poston wins Golfweek Program Challenge, Catamounts finish tied for fifth
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Finishing his final round with a 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday, Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston claimed individual medalist honors in the season-opening Golfweek Program Challenge at the par-72, 6,940-yard True Blue Golf Club. As a team, the Catamounts finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the 12-team field.
The individual championship is the first in Poston’s collegiate career. Last season, the Hickory, N.C., native recorded three straight weeks of career-best showings, capped by a runner-up finish at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate in October 2012.
Coupled with the women’s team score of 897, Western Carolina finished fifth overall in the Program Challenge portion of the event with a combined score of 1,762. This year’s finish was two spots better than the Catamounts’ first trip a year ago, when they finished seventh.
Campbell again claimed the overall championship, edging Jacksonville State by one stroke, 1,741-1,742. Campbell’s women won the team title by 17 strokes with an 862, while the men were tied for ninth at 879.
Opening on the back nine, Poston carded four birdies and four pars with one bogey to make the turn at 3-under. A pair of bogeys through the first five holes after the turn left him at 1-under for the round before he finished the event with a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole to shoot a 2-under 70 on Tuesday and 205 for the event.
Poston, who matched his career-low 18 hole score of 66 in the first round of the season, finished with 33 pars and 16 birdies over the three-round event. His score of 205 matched the WCU program’s all-time low 54-hole score established by Andres Cuenca at the Aldila Intercollegiate back in the fall of 2008.
Redshirt junior Collin Witiak advanced three places in the final standings, finishing tied for 32nd with a 54-hole score of 222. Junior Matthew Turner rallied 17 positions in the final standings with a 2-under par 70 on Tuesday. Rounding out WCU’s scorers were sophomore Tyler Lail and senior Greg Bunner, both tied for 39th overall with three-day totals of 224.
Akron took the men’s team title by five strokes over second-place IUPUI, 856- 861. The Zips put two players inside the top five, including runner-up J.B. Williams, who finished four strokes off Poston’s pace.
Western Carolina returns to action in two weeks when it travels to the Cardinal Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Louisville at the Cardinal Golf Course in Kentucky.
Samford finishes third at SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate
FLORENCE, S.C. – The Samford University men’s golf team received top-10 performances from junior Zach Hughes and true freshman Garrett Moores en route to a third-place finish Tuesday at the 29th-annual Francis Marion SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate held at the par-72, 7,062-yard Country Club of South Carolina.
Hughes earned runner-up honors after posting a three-round total of 7-under-par 209 (69-71-69). He finished just three strokes behind individual medalist Carter Davis of Presbyterian College and was tied with USC Upstate’s Ryan Cornfield, Elon’s Will DiIanni and Wofford’s Brannan Hudson.
Samford’s Moores registered an eighth-place finish in his first collegiate event by carding a stellar 3-under-par 213 (69-73-71). Additionally, the Bulldogs’ junior William Catanzaro turned in a 54-hole score of 1-under-par 215 (72-68-75) and earned a 13th-place finish.
Rounding out Samford’s scoring were sophomores Mac Hennessy (79-75-70=224) and Chris Clouser (77-73-77=227).
USC Upstate led wire-to-wire to claim the team title with an 852 total. Presbyterian College fired the low round of the day (279) to climb four spots and place second at 854. Samford finished third at 857, while Francis Marion and Elon tied for fourth at 858.
Wofford (862) occupied sixth position, followed by Radford (869), Jacksonville (872), Georgia College (877), Appalachian State (881), Longwood (885) and George Mason (903).
The Samford University men’s golf team will next be in action Oct. 7-8, as the Bulldogs travel to Akron, Ohio, for the 2013 Akron Firestone Invitational, which will be held at Firestone Country Club.
Wofford finishes sixth at SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate
FLORENCE, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s golf team completed play at the SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate on Tuesday at the Country Club of South Carolina, finishing the tournament with a score of 2-under-par 862 and taking sixth place.
The Terriers joined five other teams that finished under par. USC Upstate won the 54-hole tournament with a combined score of 12-under 852. Presbyterian finished 10-under, Samford at 7-under, while Elon and Francis Marion tied for fourth at 6-under. Wofford finished ahead of Radford (+5), Jacksonville (+8), Georgia College (+13), Appalachian State (+17), Longwood (+21) and George Mason (+39).
Junior Brannan Hudson went into Tuesday’s final round with a share of the 36-hole lead at 8-under-par and finished the tournament with a score of 7-under 209 to tie for second place. Hudson tied with three other individuals, while Presbyterian’s Carter Davis shot a final-round 4-under-par 68 to win the tournament at 10-under 206.
Junior Cory Taylor earned a top-15 finish. Taylor went into the day at even-par and shot 1-under on Tuesday to finish the tournament under par. Senior Chandler Brazeal earned a top-30 in the 65-man field and shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday to tie for 26th place at 2-over 218.
The Wofford College men’s golf team will take a few weeks off from tournament play before traveling to Madison, Wis., for the Badger Classic from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.
Elon ties for fourth at SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate
FLORENCE, S.C. – Led by a career-best finish by Will DiIanni, the Elon men's golf team earned a tie for fourth at the Springhill Suites Intercollegiate, the squad's first tournament of the year and first under the guidance of new head coach Don Hill. The Phoenix finished the tournament with a 6-under-par 858 (293-281-284).
Individually, Will DiIanni fired a 7-under 209 (69-71-69) to tie for second, just three strokes back of medalist Carter Davis (67-71-68=206) of Presbyterian. He finished the tournament with 14 birdies. His second-place showing was the best by an Elon golfer since Tanner Norton placed second at the Sea Trails Intercollegiate in September 2010.
Jeff Krieger's score of 1-under 215 (74-69-72) earned him a tie for 13th on the final leaderboard. Krieger notched 12 birdies over the course of his three rounds of action.
Four strokes back in a tie for 31st was Jonathan DiIanni (79-69-71=219), while John Somers placed in a tie for 35th out of the field of 65 with a score of 220 (76-72-72).
Finally, Jack Adkins ended the event tied for 41st with a mark of 223 (74-74-75).
Elon fired back-to-back rounds under par to conclude the tournament, the first time the program has done that since the Sea Trails Intercollegiate in September 2010.
USC Upstate took home the team title with a mark of 852 (284-277-291), 12 shots under par. Presbyterian (292-283-279=854) and Samford (297-282-288=857) placed second and third, respectively. Tied with Elon in fourth was host Francis Marion (286-284-288=858).
The Phoenix edged out SoCon rivals Wofford (6th, 287-285-290=862) and Appalachian State (10th, 297-288-296=881) in the 12-team tournament.
Elon will return to the links for the Donald Ross Intercollegiate in Morganton, N.C., on Oct. 14-15.
Appalachian State finishes 10th at SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate
FLORENCE, S.C. – Appalachian State completed play at the SpringHill Suites Intercollegiate hosted by Francis Marion on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers play 36 holes of golf on Monday with the last round of 18 being played on Tuesday. The squad entered the day in a tie for eighth place and finished in 10th, carding a 296 in round three and an 881 overall.
Lee Mitchell finished tied for ninth place individually. Mitchell shot a total score of 214, which included a 72 in the final round. Casey Komline ended the day tied for 26th, firing a 71 on the day to finish with a total of 218.
Patrick Moriarty finished tied for 39th with a final-round score of 75 for a 222 total covering both days. Eric Eberspeaker shot a 78 to finish tied for 57th. Eberspeaker finished with an overall score of 230. Coming in tied for 60th for the tournament was Andrew Furr, who fired a third-round 79 for a total of 233.
The Mountaineers will have some time off before entering the Myrtle Beach Fall Invitational on Sept. 23-24.