GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men's golf team will travel to East Tennessee State's Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, which is being held Sunday through Tuesday at the par 72, 7,118 yard Blackthorn Club at the Ridges in Jonesborough, Tenn.
Furman will be joined in the 15-team field by host ETSU, Augusta, College of Charleston, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Louisiana Tech, Liberty, Loyola Marymount, Penn State, Rutgers, Toledo, and Virginia Tech.
The Paladin lineup for the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate includes junior Will Morlan; senior Ross Funderburke; junior Trey Diehl, who won the Minnesota Golf Classic to open the season; sophomore Harris Barth; and sophomore Zach Frazer.
The 54-hole tournament will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, with teams teeing off of No. 1 and No. 10. Furman will tee off on No. 10 starting at 9:20 a.m. and will play in a group with Georgia Southern and Toledo in Sunday's opening round.
"The Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate is an event that we have been competing in for a long time," said Furman head coach Matt Davidson, the reigning Southern Conference Coach of the Year. "So, James and I, as well as the players, will have a great game plan due to our familiarity with the Blackthorn Club.
"This tournament features another strong field and is an event where the scores are typically pretty good, so avoiding bogeys and having plenty of birdie looks will be key to keeping up," continued Davidson. "The team is starting to play a lot sharper in qualifying, and we seem to be rounding into form for the back half of the fall season."
Admission is free and fans are welcome. Live tournament scoring will be available via www.golfstat.com.
Furman concluded the 2022-23 season ranked 62nd by Golfstat and 58th by Golfweek. The Paladins received an at-large regional bid for the first time since 2002, making their fifth NCAA Regional appearance and first since 2010.
At the NCAA Salem Regional, Sam Lape fired a final-round 64 to finish second, the highest regional finish in Furman men's golf history, and claim the region's individual bid to the championship. After posting rounds of 65-72-64=201 to finish 15-under par at the event, he became the first Paladin to compete at the NCAA Championship since Kirk Satterfield finished fifth at the 2001 NCAA East Regional to advance to the finals.
Also during the 2022-23 season, Morlan, a PING All-Region Team selection, became the first Paladin to win three individual titles in a season since Brad Faxon accomplished the feat in 1983. An All-Southern Conference honoree, he led the Paladins and ranked second in the league with a 70.06 stroke average over 36 rounds, the lowest season stroke average in the history of the Furman program.
