AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Furman's Clark Akers (-2) tied for 15th Sunday to lead the Paladins in a highly ranked field at the Augusta Haskins Award Invite at the par 72, 7,086 yard Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

A junior from Nashville, Tenn., Akers notched birdies on No. 4 and No. 8 to turn at 1-under then added an additional birdie on No. 15 to finish the round with a 2-under 70.  

Junior Harris Barth (E) fired a 3-under 69 with a team-high seven birdies, including three-straight birdies from No. 9 through No. 11, to tie for 23rd, while senior Trey Diehl (+2) carded an even 72 with five birdies, tying for 30th.

Freshman Ludvig Josefsson (+6) recorded a 2-under 70 with four birdies to finish in 50th place, and senior Will Morlan (+7) added a 76 with three birdies, including back to back birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to finish the round, tying for 51st.  

The Paladins (-1) finished eighth behind seven top-22 teams.  No. 9 Oklahoma State (-10) and fifth-ranked Texas (-20) shared the team title, winning by five strokes over No. 12 Illinois (-15).  No. 6 North Carolina and 22nd-ranked Notre Dame (-8) tied for fourth, while 21st-ranked Texas Tech (-4) placed sixth, and No. 11 Arizona (-2) finished seventh, just one stroke ahead of Furman.  The Paladins beat out SoCon foe ETSU (+1) by two shots. 

Furman led the field with a 3.10 stroke average on the par 3s and ranked fourth with 51 birdies.

David Ford (-12) of North Carolina beat Max Herendeen (-12) of Illinois with a birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the individual title.

The Paladins will compete for the Southern Conference Championship, April 20-22, in Greensboro, Ga.

8 Furman 286 296 281 863 -1
T15 Clark Akers (3) 70 74 70 214 -2
T23 Harris Barth (1) 72 75 69 216 E
T30 Trey Diehl (4) 72 74 72 218 +2
50 Ludvig Josefsson (5) 79 73 70 222 +6
T51 Will Morlan (2) 72 75 76 223 +7