FRANKLIN, TENN. -- Senior Sam Lape (-3) fired a final-round 68 to lead the Furman men's golf team to a sixth-place finish Wednesday at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the par 71, 7100 yard Vanderbilt Legends Club's South Course in Franklin, Tenn.

A native of Atlanta, Ga., Lape birdied No. 4 and No. 8 and turned at even par.  He went on a tear on the back nine and birdied four of his last five holes to finish the day at 3-under with a team-high six birdies.  Senior Ross Funderburke (-1) birdied his first two holes and added a third birdie on No. 15 to finish the day at even par and tie for 18th.  

Sophomore Will Morlan (+4) and freshman Harris Barth (+4) tied for 35th.  Barth carded an even 71 with birdies on No. 11 and No. 14 on Wednesday, while Morlan, who posted five birdies including birdies on his first two holes and his last two holes, finished the day with a 76.  Senior Walker Crosby (+5) birdied his first three holes and added birdies on No. 14 and No. 17 to tie for 46th after tallying a final-round 74. 

Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent (-17) won the individual title by eight strokes after posting rounds of 66-64-66=196.

Furman (-1) finished the tournament in sixth place, ahead of ranked teams Liberty (+4 - 7th place), which ranks 39th, and No. 36 Cincinnati (+13 - 9th place).  The Paladins also beat out SoCon foes Mercer (+33 - 13th place) and Wofford (+40 - 15th place).

Top-ranked Vanderbilt (-34) won the tournament by a massive 23 strokes over No. 14 Tennessee (-11).  No. 20 Ole Miss (-9) finished third, followed by 16th-ranked Mississippi State (-7) in fourth.  No. 44 North Florida (-6) rounded out the top five, just ahead of Furman. 

Furman finished fifth with a 3.16 stroke average on the par 3s a 4.12 average on the par 4s (4.14).  The Paladins also ranked fifth with 53 birdies.

The Paladins will compete at the Southern Conference Championship April 23-25 in Greensboro, Ga.

6 Furman 281 286 284 851 -1

T11 Sam Lape (4) 72 70 68 210 -3

T18 Ross Funderburke (2) 68 73 71 212 -1

T35 Will Morlan (1) 72 69 76 217 +4

T35 Harris Barth (3) 71 75 71 217 +4

T46 Walker Crosby (5) 70 74 74 218 +5