Georgia Southern leads FAU Slomin Center Invitational
LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Hayden Anderson shot a 3-under-par 68, four Eagles are in the top five and Georgia Southern is leading the FAU Slomin Center Invitational after the first round of action at The Fountains Country Club on Friday.
Georgia Southern fired a 6-under-par 278 as a team and is seven strokes ahead of second-place Central Florida (+1). Middle Tennessee State (+9) and Jacksonville State are tied for third.
Anderson is in second place in the individual standings, while Scott Wolfes, Will Evans and Charlie Martin are all tied for third after carding 70s. Henry Mabbett posted a 73 and is tied for 16th.
The par-5 third hole was kind to the Eagles, as the quintet played the hole a combined 6-under-par. Anderson jumpstarted his day with an eagle there and finished the front nine at 2-under. After a bogey on hole 11, the senior birdied 14 and 15.
Wolfes had birdies on three of his first five holes but a double-bogey on hole 4 and a bogey on hole 7 made him even at the turn. The junior bogeyed 14 and birdied 16 and 17 to finish 1-under for the day. Martin birdied two of his first three holes and was 1-under after the front nine. The junior logged a birdie on 15 and bogeyed 16 to finish 1-under.
Evans also birdied two of his first three holes, but bogeys on holes 4 and 8 made him even at the turn. He notched three birdies, including one on the 18th hole, and two bogeys on the back nine. Mabbett was 1-over at the turn and birdied hole 11 to get back to even. The sophomore made up for bogeys on holes 13 and 14 with birdies on holes 15 and 16, but a double-bogey on 17 left him at 2-over for the day.
Second-round action is set for Saturday with the Eagles slated to tee off hole 1 at 8:30 a.m.
Western Carolina fifth at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Western Carolina junior J.T. Poston carded six birdies en route to an opening-round 4-under-par 68 on Friday to stand in second place after 18 of the 54 holes at the 45th annual Furman Intercollegiate. Including Poston, the Catamounts have three golfers inside the individual top 30 to stand tied for fifth overall, just four strokes off the pace entering Saturday's second round.
Virginia Tech's Trevor Cone leads the 111-golfer field by two strokes over Poston after shooting 6-under-par 66 as the Hokies are out in front of the 18-team field by two strokes. Cone, ranked 69th in the country according to the latest GolfStat Rankings - and one of five nationally ranked individuals in the tournament - charted seven birdies and one bogey on Friday. Georgia State's J.J. Grey and Brandon Matthews from Temple both shot 69 to sit in a tie for third.
Collectively, Virginia Tech shot 3-under-par 285 to sit just ahead of both USC Upstate and Georgia State at 1-under 287. Kennesaw State is third at even-par 288 with WCU and Charleston Southern knotted at 1-over-par 289 to round out the top five.
Opening on the back nine, Poston carded three consecutive birdies to start the day before a bogey on the par-3 14th to move to 2-under for the round. He countered the bogey with a birdie on the next hole, the par-5 15th, to return to 3-under until a bogey on No. 17 left him at 2-under at the turn. On the front nine, the Hickory, N.C., native carded seven pars and two birdies to finish at 4-under for the round.
Junior Matthew Turner and freshman teammate Evan Smith are tied for 28th after the first round, firing matching rounds of 1-over-par 73. Turner overcame four straight bogeys on the back nine, making the turn at 4-over par before carding three birdies on the front to finish at 1-over. Smith had a much busier opening round, countering two double-bogeys and two bogeys with four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th. The Bluefield, W.Va., product opened his day at 4-under par after the eagle before finishing the final 13 holes at 5-over.
Junior transfer Braydon Obremski shot 3-over-par 75 to sit in a tie for 60th overall, while redshirt junior Collin Witiak is tied for 96th after a first-round 79 to round out WCU's scoring five.
Playing unattached as an individual, WCU freshman Nont Panayanggool is 110th overall after a first-round 83.
Paired with golfers from Charleston Southern and Temple, WCU's scoring five is slated to tee off beginning at 12:30 p.m. on the front nine. Panayanggool will also go off the front, beginning at noon.
Furman ninth at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman men’s golf team carded an opening-round 293 Friday to tie for ninth place in the opening round of the 45th Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Course.
No. 11 Virginia Tech (-3), winner of last year’s Furman Intercollegiate, grabbed the first-round lead with a 3-under 285, while USC Upstate (-1) and Georgia State (-2) are tied for second at 287. The Hokies’ Trevor Cone (-6) holds the individual lead after shooting an opening-round 66 to conclude the day at 6-under.
Sophomore Preston Heyward (E) fired an even 72 with three birdies on the front to lead the Paladins, finishing the day tied for 15th. Sophomore Wehman Hopke (+1) and junior Michael Borton (+1) each carded a 73 to tie for 28th. Hopke notched a team-high four birdies, two on the front and two on the back, while Borton recorded back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 and an additional birdie on No. 15.
Freshman Bryce Howell (+3) shot a 75 on Friday with birdies on No. 10 and No. 15 to tie for 60th place, while sophomore Preston Cole (+4) tied for 75th after birdieing No. 4 and No. 15 to card an opening-round 76. Senior Greg Carrier, the Paladins’ top individual for the day, tallied three consecutive birdies on Nos. 1, 2, and 3 then birdied No. 11 to fire a 73 in the opening round.
Furman (+5) will tee off of No. 1 at 8 a.m. on Saturday in second-round play of the 54-hole tournament. Sunday’s final round is scheduled for an 8 a.m. start.
Elon tied for 13th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – In an 18-team field that features two of the nation's top 40 teams, the Elon Phoenix men's golf team sits in a tie for 13th with a mark of 295 following the first round of the Furman Intercollegiate.
Both Stuart Kaufman and Jonathan DiIanni carded a 1-over-par 73 on day one. The duo is tied for 28th out of 111 participants. Kaufman was 1-under through nine holes but posted three bogeys and one birdie on the back nine for his 73. DiIanni was 2-over after his first nine holes and 4-over through 11 but bounced back with a birdie on the par-4 13th hole and an eagle on the par-5 15th to finish at 73.
Will DiIanni is tied for 46th after a first-round score of 74. He was 1-under through nine but posted four bogeys and one birdie on the back nine.
In a tie for 60th are both John Somers and Jack Adkins, who both carded a 75. Somers notched three birdies and one bogey on his first nine holes and was 2-under at the turn before adding one more birdie on the back nine. Adkins was even through nine and birdied one of his final nine holes of the day.
Virginia Tech's Trevor Cone leads the field with a 6-under 66 after one round of play.
The 10th-ranked Hokies also pace the team field with a first-day score of 285. In a tie for second with a 287 are USC Upstate and Georgia State. Kennesaw State, ranked 36th, sits fourth with a 288, while Charleston Southern and Western Carolina are tied for fifth at 289.
The teams are scheduled to play the second round of the tournament on Saturday at the Furman University Golf Course.
Wofford tied for 13th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford College men's golf team began play at the 46th annual Furman Intercollegiate on Friday, posting a first-round 7-over-par 295 to sit in 13th place.
The Terriers are in a group of 15 teams within 11 shots of the lead. No. 16 Virginia Tech (Golfweek) shot a 3-under 285 and leads No. 50 Georgia State and USC Upstate by two strokes. The Hokies are the defending Furman Intercollegiate champion.
VT's Trevor Cone posted a 6-under 66 and stands atop the individual leaderboard. Cone's round was a stroke shy of tying the tournament's first-round record. He has a two-stroke lead over Western Carolina's J.T. Poston, who is ranked No. 14 in the country by Golfweek.
Freshman Andrew Novak led the way for Wofford. Novak carded two birdies and three bogeys en route to a 1-over 73, including back-to-back birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 15th. He is tied for 28th place.
Seniors George Perkovich, Chandler Brazeal and sophomore Jeremy Grab all turned in rounds of 2-over 74. Perkovich had a roller-coaster day, which included an eagle, two birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey. Perkovich's eagle was one of 12 recorded on the day and one of four at the par-5 sixth. Brazeal had an up-and-down round, as well, sinking five birdies to go with seven bogeys. He had an unfortunate ending of three straight bogeys after being 1-under through 15.
Junior Brannan Hudson rounded out the five Terriers competing in the team competition. Hudson was 1-under through eight but suffered four bogeys the rest of the way to come in with a 3-over 75.
Wofford senior Brent McKenzie and junior Cory Taylor are competing as individuals. McKenzie began on the back nine and had three bogeys at the turn but came back with three birdies on the front before ending his round with a double-bogey for a 74. Taylor's day was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 second hole, as he turned in a 5-over 77.
The 18-team, 111-player field teed off at 8 a.m. Three top-50 squads are competing, including Virginia Tech, No. 37 Kennesaw State and No. 50 Georgia State. Wofford, Western Carolina, Elon, Samford and Furman represent the five teams in the field out of the Southern Conference.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being contested at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Course.
Past champions of the Furman Intercollegiate include two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange, as well as The Open Championship winners Mark Calcavecchia and David Duval. Other PGA Tour winners who have hoisted the Furman Intercollegiate title include Matt Kuchar, Jay Haas and Brad Faxon.
Wofford's Daniel Sloan won the individual championship in 2005.
The second round of the Furman Intercollegiate begins Saturday at 8 a.m. The five Terriers in the team competition will be in the first five groups off the No. 10 tee.