Furman finishes 12th at Golfweek Conference Challenge
BURLINGTON, Iowa – Senior Wehman Hopke (E) fired a final-round 66 to lead the Furman men’s golf team Sunday at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the par-72, 7,223-yard Spirit Hollow Golf Course. The Paladins finished 12th as a team.
Hopke started on 17 in the morning’s shotgun round and birdied six of nine holes on the front, including four straight from No. 1 to No. 4, to make the turn at 5-under. He added a birdie on No. 15 to finish the tournament in a tie for 23rd.
Freshman Connor Bruns (+7) recorded three birdies on Sunday, including consecutive birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, to tie for 47th, while seniors Preston Cole (+12) and Preston Heyward (+12) each notched three birdies in the final round to tie for 61st. Junior Bryce Howell (+13) tied for 63rd.
Iowa (-22) won the team title by three strokes over NC State (-19). Idaho (-18) finished third, followed by Kansas State (-12) in fourth, and Charleston Southern (-9) in fifth. Iowa’s Raymond Knoll (-11) and Kansas State’s Jeremy Gandon (-11) shared individual medalist honors. Furman shot a 30-over 894 for the weekend.
Furman will compete at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill, N.C., Oct. 3-4.
Western Carolina ninth at Badger Invitational
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Second-year golfer Jackson Bishop carded his season-low round of 1-over-par 73 on Sunday afternoon to lead Western Carolina amidst a six-way tie for 17th overall after the first round of the 2015 Badger Invitational at the par-72, 7,259-yard University Ridge Golf Course.
With two rounds to play, the Catamounts are ninth overall after shooting a season-low team round of 301, just five strokes outside of the team top five. WCU is also a stroke ahead of tournament host Wisconsin (302).
Paired with golfers from Miami (Ohio) and Butler, the Catamount scoring five opens Monday’s second round on the front nine at 9 a.m. CT. Live scoring for the tournament is available online at www.BirdieFire.com.
Seeing action in his first collegiate event, true freshman Alex Lee countered five bogeys with three birdies for his opening-round 2-over-par 74, finishing the day tied for 23rd overall.
Senior Taylor Durand carded his season-low round of 4-over-76, shooting 2-over on both the front and back nine to sit tied with 10 others for 39th. Durand’s younger brother – true freshman Bradley Durand – made his collegiate debut, shooting 6-over-par 78 to sit in an eight-way tie for 57th.
Rounding out WCU’s side was freshman Mark David Johnson, 76th overall after an opening-round score of 83. Johnson carded a pair of birdies including the final hole of the first round.
Miami (Ohio) leads the 12-team field by five strokes over second-place Kansas. The RedHawks carded a first-round 278 to lead the Jayhawks (283) atop the leaderboard. The Ball State Cardinals (289) sit third overall followed by the Redbirds of No. 40 Illinois State (295) and Rutgers Scarlet Knights (296) rounding out the top five.
Two RedHawks are tied atop the individual leader board after matching one another with opening rounds of 4-under-par 68. Patrick Flavin and Greg Conrad lead the 78-golfer field. Kansas golfers Chase Hanna and Charlie Hillier are tied for third after rounds of 3-under 69.