Western Carolina finishes seventh at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Holding the individual lead after 36 holes, Western Carolina men’s golf senior J.T. Poston carded a final-round 2-over-par 74 on Sunday to come home in third place overall as the Catamounts slipped two spots in the final standings into seventh at the 46th annual Furman Intercollegiate.
WCU was the highest-finishing Southern Conference team with a three-round score of 887. Chattanooga finished ninth at 891, followed by Wofford and Furman in a tie for 12th with matching team scores of 893, and Samford in 17th overall at 915.
Poston was four strokes off the leader at the conclusion of play on Sunday, countering four bogeys with two birdies over the final 18 holes for the 2-over score. The Hickory, N.C., product finished with 12 birdies in the 54-hole event while also tallying an eagle during the opening round. Poston finished with rounds of 69, 67 and 74 for his three-day total of 210, his second-lowest three-round score of the season. His second-round score was a season-low 18-hole round.
Junior Tyler Lail slipped into a tie for 37th in the final round after shooting 78 on Sunday. The Conover, N.C., product charted five bogeys and one double-bogey against one birdie over the last 18 holes, finishing with a three-day total of 223, his best three-round score of the season.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five were senior Matthew Turner in a tie for 64th overall with a three-day tally of 227 – his best 54-hole score of the year. Freshmen Jackson Bishop (232) and Bright Julamool (238) finished tied for 83rd and 102nd, respectively.
Georgia State cruised to the team championship by 16 strokes over Jacksonville, which advanced two places in the final standings to finish as the runner-up. The Panthers shot 858, while the Dolphins finished with a three-day score of 874. Troy (875) finished third followed by a two-way tie between Francis Marion and Temple at 876 for fourth.
Temple’s Brandon Matthews advanced two spots on the final day to claim individual medalist honors with a 10-under-par, 206. Matthews followed up his 66 on Saturday with a 4-under-par round of 68 over the final 18 holes to win.
Western Carolina returns to action April 6-7 at the Gary Koch Invitational, co-hosted by Auburn and Kentucky at the Gaston Country Club in Gastonia, N.C. The 54-hole tournament will be spread over two days with 36 holes on the first day of competition.
Chattanooga finishes ninth at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team finished ninth at the Furman Intercollegiate. The Mocs shot 891 (+27) for their 54 holes ending up three behind Virginia Tech and one clear of Davidson and Akron on Furman Golf Course.
Sophomore Wes Gosselin led the way, shooting 219 (+3), tying for 22nd. He followed Saturday’s level-par effort with another 72 Sunday. He ended up one ahead of freshman Andrew Weathers, who tied for 25th at 4-over.
Liam Johnston struggled in his final round. His 80 gave him a total of 226. Ewan Scott posted 227 after a 75, while Kory Webb shot 80 for a 238. Brooks Thomas’ 80 marked a 233, while fellow individual Zac Stolz carded 78 for 237.
The Mocs return to the tee at the Old Waverly Collegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event is April 6-7 at Old Waverly Country Club in West Point, Miss.
Furman ties for 12th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Junior Wehman Hopke (+1) carded a 71 to tie for 19th place to lead the Furman men's golf team in the final round of the 46th Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Course.
Hopke birdied No. 6 for an even 36 on the front and added two additional birdies on the back, finishing the round 11 strokes behind individual medalist Brandon Matthews of Temple, who carded a 72-66-68=206 for the tournament.
The Paladins (+29) tied with Wofford (+29) for 12th place.
Sophomore Bryce Howell (+2) birdied No. 9 to tie for 19th after carding a 76 on Sunday, while junior Preston Cole (+8), who scored consecutive birdies on No. 14 and 15 and added another birdie on No. 6, tied for 44th after carding a 75 in the final round. Freshman Adam Garrett (+18) recorded three straight birdies on Nos. 1, 2 and 3 to card a final-round 75, tying for 92nd, and junior Preston Heyward (+23) scored a 77 with a birdie on No. 6 on tie for 104th.
Redshirt freshman Alex Taylor (+8), the Paladins' top individual at the tournament, tied with Cole for 44th after scoring back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 and adding an additional birdie on No. 12 to card a 73 in the final round of play.
Furman will compete at the Wofford Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C., April 13-14.
Wofford ties for 12th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore Jeremy Grab shot a career-best 6-under-par 66 on Sunday in the final round of the 46th annual Furman Intercollegiate, earning his first career top-five to highlight the Wofford men’s golf team’s 12th-place finish.
Grab carded six birdies and an eagle to post the low round of the day and tie for the low round of the tournament. After a bogey on his starting 10th, Grab birdied the par-5 11th and par-4 17th for a 1-under 35 on the back nine. He made the turn to the front and eagled the par-5, 512-yard second. Still at 3-under with four holes to play, Grab went for three straight birdies on six, seven and eight before a par on his finishing ninth.
The 66 helped Grab climb 22 spots on the leaderboard to finish alone in fifth at 4-under-par 212.
As a team, Wofford finished tied with host Furman for 12th. The Terriers had a shaky start to the three-day, 54-hole tournament on Friday, opening with a 16-over-par 304. They improved by seven strokes on Saturday and closed out the weekend with their best round of 4-over-par 292. For the tournament, Wofford posted a 29-over 893.
Aside from Grab, two Terriers competing as individuals tied for 37th in the 114-man field. Freshman Evan Grenus and sophomore Cam Andrade each finished with a 7-over-par 223.
Wofford’s other team competitors included senior Brannan Hudson, who tied for 54th (+9). Sophomore Andrew Novak (+13), senior Cory Taylor (+15) and senior Andrew Fowler (+18) rounded out the Terriers in the field.
The Furman Intercollegiate began Friday at the Furman University Golf Course. The course played as a par-72 at 6,994 yards.
Next up for the Terriers is the Coca-Cola Wofford invitational, which tees off Monday, April 13, at The Country Club of Spartanburg.
Samford finishes 17th at Furman Intercollegiate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Samford University men’s golf team turned in its best round of the 2015 Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday as the Bulldogs carded a day-three total of 299 in the 18-team competition held at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club.
Samford improved in each and every round of the 54-hole tournament and vaulted Presbyterian College for the 17th-place position on Sunday. The Bulldogs opened the competition with a lackluster first-round score of 315 but bounced back with a second-day mark of 301 on Saturday.
Samford finished the tournament with a team total of 915 (315-301-299). The Bulldogs’ third-round total of 299 proved to be better than seven opponents’ scores on Sunday.
Samford’s Garrett Moores played a huge role in the Bulldogs’ improvement during the weekend.
Moores registered the team’s best score of the tournament Sunday with a third-round mark of 3-under par 69. Moores finished the weekend with a 3-over-par 219 and placed 22nd in the individual standings out of 114 competitors.
Rounding out the Bulldogs’ scores in the tournament were Ashton Nix (81-75-75=231), Austin Jackson (79-78-75=232), Robert Adams (78-75-80=233) and Mac Hennessy (82-85-84=251).
The Samford University men’s golf team will next be in action April 13-14, as the Bulldogs head to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for the 2015 Greenbrier Collegiate Invitational, which will be held at the Old White TPC Course and hosted by Bowling Green State University.