Poston wins, Western Carolina 11th at Cardinal Intercollegiate
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Capped by a final-round score of 3-under par 69, Western Carolina junior J.T. Poston claimed his second straight individual championship of the season at the Cardinal Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Louisville and concluded Tuesday at the par-72, 7,036-yard Cardinal Club.
Poston’s second individual victory comes on the heels of claiming individual medalist honors at the season-opening Golfweek Program Challenge, where he matched a program record-low score of 205 (66-69-70). All told, Poston’s six rounds this fall have been under par including a career-best round of 66 turned in on the opening 18 holes of the season.
The Catamounts finished with a final-round 304 collectively to shoot 898, finishing among a three-way tie for 11th place in the team standings out of the 15 total teams. WCU was knotted with both Dayton and Western Kentucky in the final ranking.
On Tuesday, Poston – who was second after 36 holes on Monday – countered one bogey on the par-4 fifth with four birdies and 13 pars over the final round to maintain his hold atop the individual leader board en route to his second straight individual title. For the two-day, three-round event, the Hickory, N.C., product carded the third-most birdies in the field with 13 and was tied for fifth with 37 par scores.
True freshman Nont Panayanggool finished tied for 34th in his collegiate debut, wrapping up the 54-hole event with a 2-over-par 74 for a three-round score of 224.
Panayanggool’s classmate, Evan Smith, turned in his best career round on Tuesday, shooting 5-over 77 to conclude his first collegiate tournament at 236, tied for 73rd overall. Smith countered five holes of bogey-or-worse with a pair of birdies on the day.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five was senior Jack Walsh (237) in a three-way tie for 75th overall and junior Matthew Turner (238) in 78th place. Both Walsh and Turner finished with final-round scores of 84 on Tuesday.
Tournament host Louisville claimed top team honors by six strokes over second-place Mercer, 860-866. Austin Peay slipped from second to third in the final standings at 869, with Furman (872) and Cincinnati (873) rounding out the top five.
Western Carolina returns to action Oct. 7-9 at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, hosted by NC State at the Lonnie Poole Golf Club.
Furman finishes fourth at Cardinal Intercollegiate
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Four Paladins shot par or better in Tuesday’s final round as Furman (+8) placed fourth out of 15 teams at the Cardinal Intercollegiate at the 7,036-yard Cardinal Club.
Sophomore Preston Heyward (E) birdied three holes on the back nine Tuesday to card his third consecutive par 72 at the tournament, finishing tied for eighth, while junior Michael Borton (+3) also recorded three birdies on the day, carding a 71 to tie for 16th place.
Freshman Bryce Howell (+4) started Tuesday’s round 3-under after six holes and registered five birdies in the round to fire a 71, claiming a share of 23rd place. Sophomore Wehman Hopke(+6) notched back-to-back birdies on 9 and 10 then birdied 17 to shoot a 71 in the final round, placing 29th overall, while sophomore Preston Cole tied for 49th with a 79 in the final round.
Louisville (-4) claimed the tournament title with a three-day total of 860, beating out second-place Mercer (+2) by six strokes. Austin Peay State (+5) was third at 869. J.T. Poston (-9) of Western Carolina earned individual medalist honors after carding a 68 in the opening round, a 70 in Monday’s afternoon round, and a 69 in the tournament’s final round.
Furman will return to the course Oct. 4-6 when the Paladins travel to The Brickyard at Riverside in Macon, Ga.
Georgia Southern finishes fourth at Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic
STATESBORO, Ga. – Will Evans ran off three straight birdies on the back nine to shoot a 2-under-par 69 in the final round and tie for second at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic at Warren Golf Course.
It’s the best finish of the senior’s career, and his score of 4-under for three rounds is also a career best. It’s his third top-10 finish at Georgia Southern.
The Eagles (+16) had a tough day as a team, posting a 293 and falling from second to fourth. Houston (-5) won the tournament and set a tournament record with a score of 847, and Michigan State (+10) placed second. Yale (+15) was third and fellow SoCon member Davidson (+17) finished fifth. Houston’s Kyle Pilgrim won individual medalist honors after finishing 5-under-par.
Christian Humber, who played the tournament as an individual, tied for 12th, his best finish at Georgia Southern, after posting a 74 Tuesday. The senior birdied the first hole of the day and finished the front nine at 2-over. He bogeyed hole 10, birdied hole 14 and bogeyed 15 to finish 2-over for the tournament.
Kim Koivu tied for 16th, recording 72s in all three rounds. The junior birdied two of his first three holes Tuesday and made the turn at 1-under-par. He bogeyed 12, 15 and 16 before recording a birdie on 17 to finish +3 for the tournament.
Junior Charlie Martin tied for 24th after posting a 77, and junior Scott Wolfes struggled through most of his day but finished strong, notching two birdies in the last four holes for a 76. Sophomore Henry Mabbett posted three bogeys on the front and two on the back for a 76.
Georgia Southern returns to action at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala., next week. The tournament is slated for 36 holes Sept. 30 and 18 holes Oct. 1.
Davidson finishes fifth at Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Highlighted by three sub-par rounds and two top-five finishes individually, Davidson fired a season-low 2-under 282 to finish fifth at the 2013 Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic on Tuesday afternoon.
The 54-hole event was played on the 7,023-yard par-71 Warren Golf Club layout.
Seniors Richard Fountain (72-71-68) and Sam Echikson (70-73-68) finished with 54-hole totals of 2-under 211 to come home tied for fifth out of 78 competitors. Fountain and Echikson concluded the two-day event with 10 birdies and an eagle each, to post their ninth and third career top-five showings, respectively.
As a team, Davidson (293-294-282=869) matched tournament champion Houston (282-293-282=847) with the lowest round of the day to collect its seventh top-five finish dating back to last season.
For the second straight tournament, Ralph Blasey (76-77-69=222) charted a career low, as the junior turned in a 2-under 69 Tuesday to climb into a tie for 30th.
Michigan State finished 15 strokes off the pace in second place, while just two strokes separated Yale (867), Georgia Southern (868) and Davidson.
The Cougars’ Kyle Pilgrim (-5) shot a tournament-low 66 in the final round to claim individual medalist honors.
Also competing for the Wildcats were Andy Simmons (+14/T51st), David Sargent (+14/T51st) and Todd Eckstein (+22/T71st).
Davidson will enjoy a two-week break before taking part in the Firestone Invitational on Oct. 7-8.
UNCG finishes eighth at VCU Shootout
RICHMOND, Va. – UNCG freshman men’s golfer Jake McGlone and junior Roy Dixon both finished in the top 15 of the ninth annual Golf Galaxy VCU Shootout on Tuesday at the Hermitage Country Club. UNCG finished the tournament in eighth place overall with a three-round score of 883 (299-295-289).
McGlone, playing as an individual, placed ninth overall in just his second career collegiate event, shooting a career-best 1-under-par 215. He opened the tournament with an even-par 72 in round one then carded a 3-over-par 75 in round two Monday before posting the Spartans’ lowest score of the first two events with a 4-under-par 68 Tuesday. He carded six birdies in the final round while only posting two bogeys to tie the low round for the tournament.
Dixon recorded his second top-20 finish of the season as he was tied for 13th place overall with an even-par 216. His 54-hole total of 216 is the lowest of his career, while his 13th-place showing marks his fourth top-20 effort of his career. He opened the event with a 2-under-par 70 before posting a 74 in round two and a 72 in the final round.
No. 33 Virginia Tech won the event by 22 strokes as the Hokies were 23 under par with an 841, while Iowa State was second with a 1-under-par 863. Virginia Tech’s Scott Vincent won the individual title with a 10-under-par 206 while teammate Bryce Chalkley was second with a 210.
UNCG sophomore Luke Haithcock continued his solid start to the season as he finished in 21st place overall with a 3-over-par 219.
Sophomore Taylor Coalson posted his best round of the tournament Tuesday, turning in a 2-under-par 70. His final-round score helped him move up 17 places in the standings to 39th overall with a 224. Freshman Carter Jenkins placed 46th overall with a 226 as he had his toughest round of the year Tuesday. Junior Alex Ehlert rounded out the Spartans’ lineup with a 62nd-place finish.
The Spartans return to action Oct. 7-8 as they travel to Raleigh, N.C., for the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, hosted at the Lonnie Poole Golf Club.
Comline wins, Appalachian State finishes second at Myrtle Beach Invitational
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Appalachian State completed play at the Myrtle Beach National Invitational on Tuesday afternoon, with Casey Komline finishing first individually. The Mountaineers finished in second place behind Southern Wesleyan University by one stroke.
Appalachian State shot a tournament total of 571 good for 5-under-par as a team. Southern Wesleyan finished with a 570.
Komline fired a second-round 71 for a tournament total of 140. Komline edged out four golfers by one stroke to take first.
Sophomore Lee Mitchell was not far behind, shooting a 72 in the second round to match his first-round 72 to finish in a tie for eighth place individually.
One more Mountaineers finished top 20 overall individually. Sophomore Caleb Keck shot a 72 in the second round for a tournament total of 145 and tied for 12th individually.
Junior Andrew Furr finished in a tie for 12th individually after firing a 71 and 145 overall. Furr participated as an individual and thus did not factor into the team standing. The junior fired a second-round 71 for a tournament total of 145. Freshman Patrick Moriarty shot a 77 in the second round after carding a 71 on Monday for a 148 total and finished tied for 25th.
Junior Eric Eberspeaker finished in a tie for 23rd place after shooting a 71 on Tuesday, five strokes better than his round one total. Eberspeaker finished with a 147 for the tournament.
The Mountaineers will be in action again on Sep. 30 and Oct. 1 when they travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to participate in the John Telich Invitational. The tournament will be held at Canterbury Golf Course.