Wofford leads Hummingbird Intercollegiate
SAPPHIRE, N.C. – Senior Grant Waggoner and juniors Jeremy Grab and Andrew Novak all carded rounds of 3-under 68 and have the Wofford men’s golf team in first place at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate. The 36-hole tournament, hosted by Western Carolina, teed off Sunday morning at The Country Club of Sapphire Valley.
As a team, Wofford shot an 8-under-par 276, the fourth-lowest 18-hole score in the program’s Division I history (1995-present). The Terriers lead second-place Marshall by three strokes (-5), followed by Western Carolina in third (-4) and a three-way tie for fourth between Elon, USC Beaufort and Belmont (-3).
Waggoner, Grab and Novak are tied for fifth place in the 64-man field. Waggoner’s 68 marked the second-lowest competitive round of his Terrier career – he shot a 67 as a freshman at the Wofford Invitational in 2013. He made four birdies in Sunday’s round.
Grab took advantage of the front nine with five birdies for a 5-under 31. He added a birdie on the back, but a triple-bogey on 18 moved him back three strokes. Novak had four birdies on the back nine for a 4-under 31, including three straight on 14, 15 and 16. Grab’s and Novak’s 3-under rounds matched their lowest to par of the season.
Brevard’s Oskar Lundgren leads all individuals after a first round of 5-under 66. There is a three-way tie for second place at 4-under-par.
Also competing for the Terriers are sophomores Drake Cassidy and Evan Grenus. Cassidy shot a 1-over-par 72 and is in 32nd place. Grenus (+5) is in 46th.
The second and final round of the Hummingbird Intercollegiate tees off Monday morning.
Western Carolina third at Hummingbird Intercollegiate
SAPPHIRE, N.C. – Hummingbird Intercollegiate host Western Carolina sits in third place, just four strokes off the pace at the par-71, 6,767-yard Country Club of Sapphire Valley, after Sunday’s first round.
WCU has a combined eight entries into the 64-golfer field. Of those eight, six posted first-round scores of even-par or better, with five shooting the best round of their collegiate careers on their home course.
Senior Tyler Lail paces WCU in the second position after posting a career-low round of 4-under-par 67. The Conover, N.C., product opened the round with three birdies and six pars on the front nine, making the turn at 3-under. Lail added a fourth birdie on the par-4, 287-yard 12th to shoot 67.
WCU freshman Alex Lee posted a career-best 2-under 69 to move into a tie for 10th. The Seoul, South Korea, native was 1-under on both the front and back nine with five birdies. Classmate Mark David Johnson is tied for 23rd after shooting even-par 71.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five are sophomore Jackson Bishop in a tie for 35th with a 2-over 73 and freshman Lawson King in 62nd overall after shooting 80 on Sunday.
Playing unattached as an individual, junior Evan Smith recorded his best round as a Catamount, matching Lail with a 4-under 67 to sit within a stroke of the individual title in a tie for second.
WCU sophomore Bright Julamool and freshman Bradley Durand both matched Johnson with even-par rounds of 71 on Sunday. Both charted three birdies over the first 18 holes.
The final round is scheduled for Monday morning.