KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – It was a career-best event for redshirt freshman Archie Davies, who finished in a two-way tie for second place at the 2021 Kiawah Invitational. As a team, the ETSU men’s golf squad finished fourth in the 14-team field with a team score of 24-under-par (840).
 
The Bucs were one of four teams that posted a score of 20-under-par or better for the tournament. In the final round, ETSU carded a score of 283 (-5).
 
Davies highlighted the event for the Bucs by notching his first career top-three finish. The Carlisle, England, native carded a flawless final-round score of 68 (-4) to jump into a two-way tie for second at 11-under-par (205). The 205 is the best 54-hole score for the young Buccaneer. After consecutive pars to open his final round, Davies collected back-to-back birdies on No. 12 and No. 13 to jump to 2-under-par for the round. He went on to par the next eight holes before posting another red figure on the par-5 fourth hole. Davies climbed one more spot on the leaderboard following another birdie-4 on the par-5 eighth to solidify his final-round score of 68. For the event, Davies scored an eye-opening 13-under-par when playing the par-5s, leading the field with a 4.13 stroke average on those holes.
 
Davies was followed by Trevor Hulbert, who tied for eighth for his second top-10 finish of the season and seventh in his career. The Florida native began his final round with birdies on No. 10 and No. 12 to quickly move to 2-under-par for the round. Hulbert could not get over the hump as he collected par on 11 consecutive holes. The redshirt senior slipped up for his only bogey of the round on the par-4 sixth hole, falling to 1-under-par for the event. Hulbert finished even-par in the final three holes to secure a top-10 with a tournament score of 209 (-7).
 
Shiso Go was the final Buccaneer under par for the event, despite a 3-over-par final round. Go tied for 23rd for the 54-hole tournament with a score of 3-under-par (213). Go was unable to maintain his momentum from the second round, where he posted a 4-under-par (68). The Japan native recorded four bogeys and one birdie to card a 75 (+3) to slide down the leaderboard.
 
The final countable score belonged to Sam Espinosa after he posted his second consecutive even-par (72) round. The redshirt freshman finished 1-over-par (217) for the event, finishing the final round with two birdies and a pair of bogeys. For the tournament, Espinosa finished with six birdies, five bogeys and one double-bogey.
 
Wake Forest ran away with the event as the seventh-ranked Demon Deacons finished at 37-under-par (827). Wake Forest was followed by fellow ACC foe Clemson (-28), who is tied with the Demon Deacons at seventh in the GolfWeek standings. Kentucky (-25) finished third in the field, one shot ahead of the Buccaneers.
 
Davies and Eric Bae (Wake Forest) finished tied for second at 11-under-par (205) on the individual leaderboard. However, the duo could not catch up with Wake Forest’s Michael Brennan, who claimed individual medalist honors with a score of 16-under-par (200).
 
ETSU will be back on the golf course on Sunday, March 14, when the Bucs compete at The General Hackler in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The 54-hole event will conclude on Tuesday, March 16.