SALEM, S.C. -- Furman's Sam Lape (-7) shot even par on Tuesday and is tied for eighth entering the final round of the NCAA Salem Regional at the par-72, 7,126 yard The Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem, S.C. The Paladins (-5) are in tenth place after two rounds.
Lape, a senior from Atlanta, Ga., was 3-under over his final 11 holes on Tuesday, finishing the round at 72 with four birdies. He is six strokes behind Ryan Burnett (-9) of North Carolina, who continues to lead the tournament after the second round after recording rounds of 63-68=131.
Freshman Harris Barth (-1) paced Furman with a 2-under 70 in round two to move into a tie for 37th. He birdied his first two holes then added birdies on No. 6 and No. 9 to turn at 2-under. Barth posted birdies on No. 14 and No. 16 on the back to finish the day with a team-high six birdies.
Sophomore Will Morlan (E) played virtually flawless golf on Tuesday, tallying 15 pars, two birdies, and just one bogey to finish the round with a 1-under 71, tied for 45th.
Seniors Ross Funderburke (+4) and Walker Crosby (+4) enter the final round tied for 61st. Crosby carded a 75 with three birdies on Tuesday, while Funderburke posted a 76 with four birdies.
No. 35 Arkansas (-39) extended its lead to seven strokes over No. 11 Georgia Tech (-32) with one round left in the competition. Second-ranked North Carolina (-25) and No. 47 New Mexico (-25) are tied for third, followed by Northern Illinois (-23) in fifth place. The Paladins (-5) are in 10th place, ahead of 38th-ranked Purdue (+3), among others.
The Paladins, who will tee off of No. 10 at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday and play in a group with Middle Tennessee State and Purdue, are part of a 14-team regional field that is battling for a top-five finish and a berth in the 30-team NCAA Championship, which will be held May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Salem Regional field includes four of the top 25 teams in the country led by North Carolina, which ranks second in the latest GolfStat rankings. No. 11 Georgia Tech, 14th-ranked Texas A&M, and No. 23 San Diego State are also competing in Salem.
Furman, which received a regional at-large bid for the first time since 2002, is making its fifth NCAA Regional appearance. The Paladins last competed at a regional in 2010, when Furman finished 11th at the Southeast Regional in Alpharetta, Ga.
Live scoring of the NCAA Salem Regional is available at http://www.golfstat.com or by logging onto http://www.furmanpaladins.com.
10 Furman 283 288 571 -5
T8 Sam Lape (2) 65 72 137 -7
T37 Harris Barth (4) 73 70 143 -1
T45 Will Morlan (1) 73 71 144 E
T61 Ross Funderburke (3) 72 76 148 +4
T61 Walker Crosby (5) 73 75 148 +4
