AIKEN, S.C. -- Junior Trey Diehl (+3) tied for eighth to lead the Furman men's golf team to a third-place finish Tuesday at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, which was hosted by USC Aiken this week at the par 70, 6,617 yard Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C.

A native of Orlando, Fla., Diehl teed off on No. 5 in the shotgun start and birdied three holes on the back to turn at even par.  After posting an additional birdie on No. 4, he concluded the round with an even 70. 

Diehl was one of four Paladins to finish among the top 26.  Sophomore Harris Barth (+4) birdied three straight from No. 8 through No. 10 on Tuesday to finish 11th with a final-round 72, and senior Ross Funderburke (+7) also recorded a 72 with three birdies to tie for 22nd.  Junior Will Morlan (+9) tied for 26th after carding a 75 with birdies on No. 5 and No. 14 in the final round.  

Senior Demi Di Matteo (+11) concluded the tournament in a tie for 38th.  He notched four birdies, including three straight from No. 13 through No. 15, and posted a 72 on Tuesday.  

Rory McDonald O'Brien (-3) of USC Aiken won the tournament by one stroke with a three-round total of 69-68-70=207.

Davidson (+5) led the field with a 279 on Tuesday to win the title.  Host USC Aiken (+11) finished second, followed by the Paladins (+19) in third.  East Carolina (+20) placed fourth, and Virginia Tech (+24) took fifth place.  

Furman led the field with a 3.17 average on the par 3s and tied for fourth with a 4.18 average on the par 4s.

The Paladins will compete at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C., March 18-20.

3 Furman 288 285 286 859 +19

T8 Trey Diehl (4) 71 72 70 213 +3

T11 Harris Barth (3) 73 69 72 214 +4

T22 Ross Funderburke (2) 71 74 72 217 +7

T26 Will Morlan (1) 73 71 75 219 +9

T38 Demi Di Matteo (5) 76 73 72 221 +11