GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman men's golf team will entertain 14 teams at the 52nd Annual Furman Intercollegiate this weekend, Oct. 22-23, at the par-71, 7,005-yard Furman University Golf Club. The tournament, which has traditionally been held in March, is being contested in the fall for the first time.
This year's field includes the host Paladins, who rank 49th nationally, Campbell, Chattanooga, Coastal Carolina, Davidson, Francis Marion, Gardner-Webb, High Point, James Madison, Richmond, Samford, USC Aiken, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina, and William and Mary.
Round one of the 54-hole tournament tees off on Saturday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Round two will follow immediately upon completion of round one. Final round action is scheduled to begin at 8:20 a.m. Sunday with teams starting on No. 1 and No. 10.
On Saturday, Furman will tee off of holes No. 1 through No. 3 and will play in groups with players from Virginia Tech and High Point. Paladin individuals will tee off of No. 17 and No. 18.
The Paladin lineup will include sophomore Will Morlan, seniors Sam Lape, Walker Crosby, and Ross Funderburke, and sophomore Trey Diehl. Senior Reynolds Lambert, juniors Demi Di Matteo, David Dickey, and Mac Scott, along with freshmen Clark Akers and Zach Frazer, will compete as individuals.
"The Furman Intercollegiate is a special event for us not only because we host, but because it has such a long and storied history," said Paladin head coach Matt Davidson. "The 52nd edition this year has drawn a deep and solid field of mid-majors and traditionally strong programs. It is always nice to be playing our home course, and the Furman University Golf Course will be in great shape with the move to the fall this year. The competition will be tough, but if we play our games and stay focused, we expect to be in contention, and it should be a fun weekend."
The Furman Intercollegiate was last played in the spring of 2021, when the Paladins won the team championship for the first time since 2004 and only the third time in Furman Intercollegiate history. Furman edged Florida Gulf Coast by two strokes for the team victory, while Paladin Keller Harper posted a three-round total of 207 to win the individual championship by three strokes.
The Furman University Golf Course was designed by Richard K. Webel of Long Island, N.Y., and Walter Cosby, superintendent of grounds and greens at the Greenbriar Hotel and Golf Resort. The course was redesigned by Kris Spence in 2010. Since the late 1970s, the course has been the site of two outstanding college tournaments, the Furman Intercollegiate and the Lady Paladin Invitational. In addition, the course hosts a number of local and state tournaments.
Through the years, a number of familiar names have played the course and participated in the Furman Intercollegiate. Past winners include Curtis Strange, Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia, Billy Andrade, Matt Kuchar and Furman's own Brad Faxon. LPGA stars Betsy King, Beth Daniel, Sherri Turner and Dottie Pepper, plus Faxon and current Furman men's golf head coach and former Korn Ferry Tour player Davidson all played their collegiate golf on the course as members of the Furman golf teams.
Fans can log on to http://www.furmanpaladins.com or http://www.golfstatresults.com to follow live scoring during all three rounds.
