Wofford wins Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s golf team began its spring season with a tournament victory, taking first place at the 10th annual Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate, Tuesday at the Wexford Plantation Golf Club.
Wofford led after Monday’s first round and opened its lead to seven strokes before the second round was suspended due to darkness. The teams finished up the second round Tuesday morning in cold and rainy conditions, but the third and final round was subsequently canceled because of the weather.
The Terriers led by nine strokes when second-round play resumed and braved the conditions to earn the victory. Wofford’s winning total was a 10-over-par 586, seven strokes ahead of 46th-ranked Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern. No. 4 USC Aiken finished in fifth, 14 strokes behind the Terriers.
Sophomores Andrew Novak and Jeremy Grab led the way, tying for third place with a tournament total of even-par 144. Novak had six birdies en route to an opening-round 3-under 69 and fought the conditions in round two for a 3-over 75. Grab had a roller-coaster first round that consisted of five birdies and six bogeys to card a 1-over-73. He got back to even with four birdies and three bogeys in his second round, including a birdie at his closing par-5, 543-yard fifth.
The third Terrier to earn a top-10 was senior Brannan Hudson, who tied for ninth at 2-over-par 146. Hudson, who won the Camden Collegiate Invitational by six strokes in the fall, was consistent, carding pars on 27 of his 36 holes played. His weekend consisted of four birdies and four bogeys, as he slipped up just once for a double bogey on the par-4, 415-yard 16th.
Senior Cory Taylor tied for 32nd at 8-over-par 152. He was just 3-over for the tournament when play was halted for darkness Monday evening. However, Tuesday morning’s tough conditions added five strokes to his total through the final six holes.
Sophomore Cam Andrade, who earned his first trip to a tournament of his Terrier career, finished in 94th at 29-over-par.
The Wofford men’s golf team heads to the Davidson Invitational next Monday and Tuesday. The tournament will be held at River Run Country Club in Cornelius, N.C.
Poston wins, Western Carolina finishes 10th at Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Tied for the individual lead after the first round, Western Carolina senior J.T. Poston carded a 1-over-par 73 in the second round that concluded Tuesday morning to win the weather-shortened Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate, hosted by Francis Marion University. The Catamounts slipped to 10th collectively as a team, carding rounds of 296 and 311 for a 36-hole score of 607.
It is the first individual-medalist honor for Poston this season and the fifth of his storied Catamount career. All told, the fourth-year striker from Hickory, N.C., has 25 career top-10 finishes and has placed in the top five 16 times.
After carding a 3-under-par round of 69 on Monday, Poston countered a double-bogey and a bogey with two birdies on what proved to be the final 18 holes. All told, Poston – who ranks 79th in the latest GolfStat rankings – charted seven birdies over the 36 holes, shooting 142 (69-73). Poston finished ahead of four other ranked individuals, including two that are inside the national top 50.
Poston edged Adam Ball of Virginia Commonwealth by a stroke, 143, as Ball rallied 27 positions in the final standings with a second-round 4-under-par 68. There was a five-way tie for third place in the final standings.
Behind Poston, WCU junior Tyler Lail finished tied for 41st with rounds of 75 and 79 for a two-day total of 154. Lail had two birdies in his first round on Monday. He was followed by freshman Bright Julamool (154) in a tie for 49th with rounds of 74 and 81 in the spring's first tournament.
Rounding out the Catamount scoring five were senior Matthew Turner in a tie for 54th with consecutive rounds of 78 to shoot 156 and sophomore Nont Panayanggool (161), who tied for 77th after shooting 79 and 82.
Western Carolina returns to action March 9-10 at the Palmetto Intercollegiate, hosted by USC Aiken at the Palmetto Golf Course in Aiken, S.C. The 54-hole event will be spread over two days, playing 36 holes on the opening day followed by 18 on the second.
Furman finishes 14th at Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Junior Wehman Hopke (+3) placed 12th after firing an even 72 in the second round to lead Furman on Tuesday in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,913-yard Wexford Plantation. Due to inclement weather in the area and travel concerns for teams involved, the third round of the tournament was canceled.
Hopke birdied three holes in the second round to finish the tournament five strokes back of Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston (-2), who garnered individual medalist honors after firing a 69 in the opening round and carding a 73 in second round play.
Paladin sophomore Bryce Howell (+10) tied for 41st place, while junior Preston Cole (+16), who recorded four second-round birdies, and freshman Hunter Nichols (+16) tied for 73rd overall. Junior Preston Heyward (+17) tied for 77th.
Furman will compete at the John Hayt Intercollegiate in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Feb. 27-March 1.
ETSU ties for 11th at Puerto Rico Classic
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – For the seventh straight time this season, ETSU junior Adrian Meronk led the ETSU men's golf team in tournament play.
Meronk, who paced the Blue and Gold in all six fall tournaments, finished tied for 14th at the Puerto Rico Classic, which concluded on Tuesday at the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa’s River Course.
For the second consecutive round, Meronk – Golfweek's 12th-ranked golfer – posted a 2-under-par 70 and finished the 54-hole tournament at 1-under-par 215 (75-70-70). Meronk registered four of his 10 birdies on Tuesday, and was 3-under for the round before carding double bogeys on a pair of par-5s (No. 4 and No. 8), but the Buccaneer leader posted a birdie on his second-to-last hole to end with the 70.
Overall, the 33rd-ranked Buccaneers shot a 9-over 297 in the final round and tied for 11th with UNCG at 25-over-par 889 (299-293-297).
Georgia led wire-to-wire and claimed the 2015 Puerto Rico Classic after beating out in-state rival Georgia Tech by seven strokes. The 40th-ranked Bulldogs tallied a team score of 12-under-par 852 (280-281-291), while the fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets were the only other team to record a 54-hole score below par. Georgia Tech ended at 5-under-par 859 (292-274-293).
Alabama's Dru Love and Virginia Tech's Scott Vincent shared medalist honors by penciling in matching tournament scores of 7-under-par 209.
ETSU's other countable scores consisted of Chris Hickman's 2-over-par 218 (74-70-74), Mateusz Gradecki's 10-over-par 226 (73-76-77) and Gudmundur Kristjansson's 14-over-par 230 (77-77-76).
This marked ETSU's first tournament of the spring season, while the Bucs return to action on March 9 at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
UNCG finishes 11th at Puerto Rico Classic
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – The 56th-ranked UNCG men’s golf team concluded play in the prestigious Puerto Rico Classic on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for 11th place overall in the field that included 13 teams ranked in the top 100 at the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa River Course.
The Spartans finished the 54-hole event with a 25-over-par 889 score (298-294-297) to finish tied with fellow Southern Conference member and 32nd-ranked ETSU. No. 39 Georgia won the event, leading all three days with a 12-under-par 852 (280-281-291), while No. 6 Georgia Tech was second at 5-under-par 859 (292-274-293). Dru Love of Alabama and Scot Vincent of Virginia Tech shared the individual honors, finishing 7-under 209.
Junior Taylor Coalson was the Spartans’ top finisher in the event, placing tied for 27th overall. Coalson finished the three-round event with a 3-over-par 219 as he opened with back-to-back even-par 72s before carding a 3-over-par 75 Tuesday. Coalson finished tied for third overall among all golfers in the field with 41 par scores, including 13 in the final round.
Freshman Josh Stockwell continued his strong play, as he finished in a tie for 33rd overall. Stockwell carded a 54-hole score of 6-over-par 222 as he was consistent all week with a 2-over-par 74 in round one, a 1-over-par 73 in round two and a 3-over-par 75 in round three. He was also tied with Coalson for third overall among the field of 75 players with 41 par scores.
Sophomore Jake McGlone continued his climb up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 45th overall. McGlone posted a score of 9-over-par 225 as he rebounded from a first-round score of 8-over-par 80. He followed that round up with an even-par 72 in round two and a 1-over-par 73 Tuesday as he finished with birdies on holes Nos. 2, 10, 13 and 15.
Senior Roy Dixon placed 53rd overall with an 11-over-par 227. Dixon opened with a 4-over-par 76 before carding a 5-over-par 77 in round two. He closed out the week with his top round, notching a 2-over-par 74 Tuesday. Junior Luke Haithcock rounded out the Spartans’ lineup with a 236 (76-78-82).
Additionally, the Spartans had two players take part in the Puerto Rico Individual event on the Ocean Course. Senior Alex Ehlert placed third out of nine individuals with a 6-over-par 219. Ehlert opened with a 75 in round one, had a 73 in round two and carded a 1-under-par 71 Tuesday as he posted seven birdies. Redshirt sophomore William Thomas was tied for fourth overall with a 10-over-par 223 (76-69-78). Thomas posted four birdies and an eagle-3 on a par-5 No. 5 in his second-round score of 69.