Furman finishes fifth at Rees Jones Invitational
DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. – Senior Preston Cole (+5) tied for eighth to lead the Furman men’s golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Rees Jones Invitational at the par-72, 7,380-yard Haig Point, a Jones Signature Course.
Cole birdied No. 1 and No. 8 for a final-round 78, finishing the tournament six strokes behind Isaiah Logue (-1) and Gabriel Lench (-1), both of Liberty, who tied for individual medalist honors. Liberty (+1) led the field with a 284 on Tuesday to win by 21 strokes over second-place Campbell (+22). No. 47 Charlotte (+30) was third, followed by 26th-ranked Kennesaw State (+33). The Paladins (+40) rounded out the top five.
Paladin junior Bryce Howell (+11) scored a birdie on No. 5 and No. 17 on Tuesday to card a 76 and tie for 17th, while freshman Connor Bruns (+13) and senior Wehman Hopke (+13) tied for 23rd after each shot a final-round 77. Senior Preston Heyward (+18) finished 39th after birdieing No. 4 and No. 18 to record a final-round 79, and sophomore Hunter Nichols (+22), who is playing as an individual, placed 44th.
Furman will compete at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Burlington, Iowa, Sept. 25-27.
Western Carolina finishes ninth at Rees Jones Invitational
DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. – Western Carolina senior Tyler Lail posted his second consecutive round of 1-over-par 73 on Tuesday in rallying to a career-best finish at the season-opening Rees Jones Invitational. Lail advanced three spots on the final day of competition to come home with his second career top-five finish, pacing the Catamounts in third place at the par-72, 7,380-yard Jones Signature Course at The Haig Point Club.
Western Carolina closed play in ninth place overall with a season-opening score of 923 after shooting 314 on Tuesday to accompany its previous two rounds of 303 and 306.
Lail recorded the second-best 54-hole score of his collegiate career at 217, just a stroke off of matching his career-low, three-round tournament score of 216 fired last spring. Lail opened the season with a 1-under round of 71 on Sunday with the first of back-to-back rounds of 1-over 73 on Monday.
WCU sophomore Jackson Bishop and true freshman Mark David Johnson both finished with a final-round score of 6-over-par 78 to place amongst a five-way tie for 29th (230) in the tournament field.
Senior Taylor Durand (254) finished 52nd overall in his first full collegiate tournament for the Catamounts, tallying his third birdie of the event at the turn to the front nine of the final round. WCU’s fifth player, freshman Lawson King, withdrew from the final round.
ETSU finishes second at Inverness Intercollegiate
TOLEDO, Ohio – The ETSU men’s golf team had three players place in the top 20, while the Buccaneers finished runner-up as the final round of the 11th annual Inverness Intercollegiate concluded Tuesday afternoon at the Inverness Golf Club.
The Bucs, who won the tournament a year ago, entered the final round two shots back of team-leading California, but the Blue and Gold couldn’t gain ground as ETSU finished the 54-hole tournament three strokes behind the Golden Bears. ETSU posted a three-round score of 28-over-par 880 (293-293-294), compared to Cal – who entered the season ranked in the top 20 – finishing 25-over-par 877 (291-293-293).
Individually, three Bucs placed in the top-20 as senior Gudmundur Kristjansson finished third, while fellow seniors Adrian Meronk and Chris Hickman tied for 18th. Kristjansson ended the tournament at 2-over-par 215 (73-72-70) and led the Buccaneers with 10 birdies and 36 pars. The Icelander registered four of those birdies in Tuesday’s final round – including three in his final seven holes – en route to shooting a 1-under 70.
Meanwhile, Hickman registered a 5-over 76 in the final round, while Meronk bounced back after a bumpy day on Monday and carded a 1-over 72 as both ETSU golfers finished 10-over-par 223 for the championship.
Michigan State’s Mitch Rutledge began the morning five shots off the lead but posted the lowest round of the tournament at 5-under 66 to leap six spots up the leaderboard and capture medalist honors. Rutledge finished the 54-hole tournament at 2-under-par 211 (75-70-66) and won by three strokes over Michigan’s Kyle Mueller.
After guiding the Bucs on Monday, junior Mateusz Gradecki shot an 80 on Tuesday and finished tied for 21st at 11-over-par 224 (71-73-80), while redshirt freshman Conor Rodrigues tied for 54th.
ETSU now has a few weeks to gear up for its home tournament – the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate – which will be held Oct. 9-11 at Blackthorn Club at the Ridges.
Mercer finishes 11th at Inverness
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Mercer University men’s golf team shot a 309 on the final day of the Inverness Intercollegiate, wrapping up the two-day event in 11th place with a total score of 909.
Mercer dropped four spots in the team standings after firing a 25-over 309 on the final day of action. California won the team title with a three-round tally of 877, while ETSU and Michigan rounded out the top three.
Jeffrey Heinicka saved his best 18 holes of the year for Tuesday’s finale, firing a team-best 1-over 72 to climb into 21st place. The senior carded three birdies in the final round, while climbing 18 spots on the leaderboard with a three-round score of 224.
Heinicka’s 21st-place finish is his best since placing 20th at the 2012 Ram Masters Invitational, where he shot a three-round score of 218.
Dylan Deogun, Jerry Ren and Sean Smothers fell short in their bid for back-to-back top-10 finishes, as the trio combined for 37 birdies at the Golfweek Program Challenge to help lead the Bears to a second-place finish earlier this month.
Wofford finishes third at Fighting Irish Golf Classic
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior Andrew Novak fired a final-round even-par 71, leading the Wofford men’s golf team to a third-place finish at the Fighting Irish Golf Classic on Tuesday. The tournament was hosted by Notre Dame at Warren Golf Course.
Novak was consistent through all three rounds, posting two rounds of 71 sandwiched around a second-round 1-under 70. The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native finished in a tie for seventh with a total of 1-under-par 212 and was one of just 12 players in the 12-team, 69-man field to finish below par.
Novak’s performance headed a final-round 4-over 288 for the Terriers, who earned third place with a tournament total of 7-over-par 859. St. Mary’s (Calif.) and host Notre Dame were co-champions with a winning total of 2-under-par 850. Utah State (+9) finished fourth and Loyola-Maryland (+15) rounded out the top five.
Grant Waggoner had an impressive start to his senior season. Competing in just the fourth tournament of his Terrier career, Waggoner earned a tie for 19th with a 3-over 216. He saved his best round for Tuesday, carding four birdies on his way to a 1-under-par 70.
Juniors Jeremy Grab (+5) and Cam Andrade (+7) each finished inside the top 30. Sophomore Evan Grenus (+11) rounded out Wofford’s five-man team in 43rd.
The Terriers take a week off before their next tournament, returning to action at The Wolfpack Intercollegiate on Monday, Oct. 5, at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, N.C.
UNCG finishes third at Janney VCU Shootout
RICHMOND, Va. – The UNCG men’s golf climbed into third place in the final standings of the 2015 Janney VCU Shootout with its best round of the week at the Country Club of Virginia Tuckahoe Creek Course on Tuesday afternoon.
The year marked the seventh straight season that UNCG has played in the VCU Shootout and the Spartans’ third-place finish is their highest finish during that stretch.
The Spartans were the only team to shoot under par in the third and final round, carding a 2-under 286 team score to leap over three teams in the rankings. UNCG finished the tournament at 5-over-par 869 as the Spartans opened with a 293 in round one and shot a 290 in round two before posting their lowest round of the year at 286 in round three. The Spartans only trailed James Madison (7-under 857) and East Carolina (2-over 866) in the team standings.
Junior Jake McGlone continued his strong start to the season, finishing tied for 10th overall. McGlone has finished in the top 10 in the first two tournaments of the season and has finished in the top 10 for three straight events dating back to last season. He finished this week at 1-under par 215 to lead the Spartans, as he was consistent all week. McGlone posted scores of 72-71-72 on the week.
Freshman James Mishoe posted his top finish of his young career, placing in a tie for 15th overall. Mishoe opened the event with a 1-over par 73 before carding a career-low 3-under-par 69. He finished up the event with a 4-over-par 76 Tuesday. He was tied fifth overall in par-5 scoring at 5-under par, 4.50.
Senior Taylor Coalson notched the Spartans’ top round Tuesday as he shot up the leaderboard, gaining 29 spots to finish in a tie for 22nd overall. He posted a 3-under-par 69 in the final round, marking the second-lowest round of the afternoon among all 83 golfers.
Freshman Bryce Hendrix finished in a tie for 36th overall at 7-over par 223. Hendrix improved all three rounds, posting scores of 76-75-72.
Sophomore Josh Stockwell rounded out the Spartans’ lineup in a tie for 46th place overall. Stockwell finished 9-over par 225 as he tallied an even-par 72 in round one, an 8-over-par 80 in round two and a 1-over-par 73 in the final round as he carded three birdies Tuesday.
Freshman Mark Johnston played as an individual and finished tied for 24th overall at 5-over-par 221. Johnston finished with rounds of 74-72-75, cutting 27 strokes from his collegiate opener last week at the Rod Myers Invitational. Junior Riley Davis also played as an individual and placed 46th overall. Davis carded a 9-over-par 225 (70-80-75) in his first career event as a Spartan.
The Spartans return to the course Oct. 3-4 as they take part in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate at the Finley Golf Course.
Chattanooga finishes fifth at Janney VCU Shootout
RICHMOND, Va. – Chattanooga Mocs sophomore Stuart Thomas sat out the 2014-15 season redshirting to work on a swing change. It seems like that was a pretty good plan, evidenced by his fourth-place finish Tuesday at the Janney VCU Shootout played on the Country Club of Virginia’s Tuckahoe Creek Course.
Chattanooga finished fifth overall at 875. That was one ahead of host VCU, nine clear of Maryland and 10 atop Virginia Tech, rounding out the top nine. Iowa State was four shots in front of UTC in fourth. James Madison claimed the team title at -7 with East Carolina nine back in second at 866.
Thomas carded a final-round 72 (E) for a 54-hole total of 4-under-par 212. That put him six shots off the pace of Maryland’s Tom Harris at -10. David Kocher (Maryland) and Nick Voke (Iowa State) tied for second at -5.
The Mocs tallied 295 in the final 18, with Thomas’ 72 supported by 74s from Brooks Thomas and Wes Gosselin with Andrew Weathers carding 75. Lake Johnson had the drop score with a 76.
Brooks Thomas and Weathers tied for 24th at 221 (+5). Gosselin was two off their pace tying for 36th at 223. Johnson turned in a 236. Kory Webb shot 233 playing as an individual.
The Mocs return to the tee Oct. 5-6 at the Wolfpack Fall Open. NC State hosts the event on Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, N.C.