Temple's Whitney finishes fifth, South Carolina repeats as team champion in Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate

   Temple got a strong showing from Ethan Whitney, a sophomore from Westminster, Mass. who finished alone in fifth place in the individual standings while South Carolina, out of the Southeastern Conference, claimed the team title for the second straight year in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C.

   Whitney matched par in Tuesday’s final round with a 70 over the 6,617-yard, par-70 Palmetto layout after posting solid rounds of 2-under-par 68 and 1-under 69 in Monday’s double round for a 3-under 207 total, tied for the fifth-best in program history for the Owls.

   South Carolina, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 52 in the latest Golfstat rankings, took control of the team chase with an 8-under 272 in Monday afternoon’s second round. The Gamecocks had opened with a 1-over 281. A final round of 5-over 285 gave South Carolina a 2-under 838 total and a 10-shot margin of victory over Southern Conference representative Furman.

   South Carolina was led by Nathan Franks, a sophomore from Roebuck, S.C. who was one of three players who finished in a tie for second place in the individual chase, two shots behind Mercer’s Tobias Jonsson, a senior from Sweden who was the individual champion.

   Franks contributed a 3-under 67 to South Carolina’s second-round surge after opening with a 69. Franks matched par in the final round with a 70 for a 4-under 206 total.

   Jonsson, who represented Mercer in the NCAA’s Palm Beach Regional as an individual last spring, opened with a 1-under 69 before matching the low round of the tournament with a sparkling 5-under 65 in Monday afternoon’s second round that gave him a share of the individual lead going into Tuesday’s final round.

   Jonsson matched par in the final round with a 70 to finish with a 6-under 204 total.

   After opening with a 6-over 286, No. 55 Furman put together a solid 3-under 277 in Monday afternoon’s second round that left it 10 shots behind South Carolina in sixth place. The Paladins matched South Carolina for the low team round of the week in Tuesday’s final round with a 5-over 285 that left the Paladins with an 8-over 848 total.

   No. 68 Wisconsin, out of the Big Ten, was South Carolina’s closest pursuer following Monday’s double round as the Badgers added a 3-under 277 in the afternoon’s second round after opening with a 3-over 283. Wisconsin trailed South Carolina by seven shots before closing with a 9-over 289 that left the Badgers alone in third place, a shot behind Furman with a 9-over 849 total.

   No. 99 Davidson, the reigning two-time Atlantic 10 champion, finished four shots behind Wisconsin in fourth place with a 13-over 853 total. After opening with a solid 1-under 279, the Wildcats posted a 3-over 283 total before finishing up with an 11-over 291.

   It was another two shots back to Virginia Tech, out of the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, as the Hokies finished in fifth place with a 15-over 855 total. Virginia Tech added a 4-over 284 in Monday’s second round to its opening-round 283 before closing with an 8-over 288.

   Behind Whitney’s strong showing, Temple, an American Athletic Conference representative, finished in a tie for ninth place in the 15-team field with Wofford, another Southern Conference representative, each landing on 31-over 871.

   The Owls put together solid rounds of 4-over 284 and 6-over 286 in Monday’s double round, but struggled in the final round with a 301.

   Backing up Franks for South Carolina was Rafe Reynolds, a freshman from Greenville, S.C. who finished alone in sixth place, a shot behind Temple’s Whitney with a 2-under 208 total. After matching par with a 70 in the opening round, Reynolds contributed a 3-under 67 to the Gamecocks’ surge in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Evans Lewis, a graduate student from Sumter, S.C., and Lansdon Robbins, a redshirt senior from Davidson, N.C., finished in a tie for 13^th place for the Gamecocks, each landing on 2-over 212.

   Lewis matched par in both ends of Monday’s double round with a pair of 70s before finishing up with a 2-over 72. Robbins sandwiched a 2-under 68 with a pair of 2-over 72s.

   Rounding out the South Carolina lineup was Zach Adams, a freshman from Charleston, S.C. who finished alone in 59^th place with a 227 total. After opening with a 2-over 72, Adams struggled, adding an 8-over 78 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 77.

   Joining South Carolina’s Franks in the trio tied for second place, two shots behind Mercer’s Jonsson, the individual champion, at 4-under 206 were Davidson’s Brian Garrett, a senior from San Antonio, Texas, and Wisconsin’s Maxime Legros, a graduate student from France.

   Garrett matched the low round of the tournament when he opened with a sparkling 5-under 65. He backed off a little with a 2-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a solid 1-under 69. Legros was only a shot out of the individual lead after adding a 4-under 66 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 69 before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Legros’ Wisconsin teammate, Cameron Huss, a junior from Kenosha, Wis., finished alone in seventh place, a shot behind South Carolina’s Reynolds with a 1-under 209 total. Huss shared the lead with Jonsson going into Tuesday’s final round after adding a 2-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 66. A final round of 5-over 75 dropped Huss back to 1-under.

   Furman’s Harris Barth, a freshman from Atlanta, was a shot behind Huss in eighth place with an even-par 216 total. Barth carded a 4-under 66 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 1-over 71 and then fell back to even-par with a 3-over 73 in the final round.

   Barth’s Furman teammate, Walker Crosby, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., headed a group of four players tied for ninth place at 1-over 211. Crosby recorded back-to-back 2-over 72s in Monday’s double round before contributing a 3-under 67 to the Paladins’ strong finish.

   Joining Crosby at 1-over were Davidson’s Alex Heffner, a junior from Harrisburg, N.C., Virginia Tech’s Charlie Hanson, a junior from Richmond, Va., and Francis Marion’s Mitchell Vance, a senior from Huntsville, S.C.

   Heffner, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, matched par with a pair of 70s in each of the two Monday rounds before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Hanson carded a solid 2-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 1-over 71. Hanson then finished up with a 2-over 72. Vance was just one shot off the individual lead going into Tuesday’s final round as he added a 2-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 3-under 67 before closing with a 6-over 76.

   Backing up Whitney for Temple was Jake Naese, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 37^th place with an 11-over 221 total. Naese was solid in Monday’s double round, matching par in the opening round with a 70 before adding a 3-over 73 in the afternoon. But he struggled to an 8-over 78 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Graham Chase, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., got it going in Monday afternoon’s second round for the Owls with a 1-under 69 after opening with a 3-over 73, but struggled in the final round with an 80 to finish in the group tied for 45^th place with a 222 total.

   Senior Connor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product, couldn’t get it going at Palmetto. The winner of the 2021 BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Cedarbrook Country Club, McGrath added a 5-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 3-over 73 before closing with a 76 to finish among the group tied for 50^th place with a 224 total.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was sophomore Joey Morganti, a Havertown resident and St. Joseph’s Prep product who finished in the group tied for 67^th place with a 231 total. Morganti added a 6-over 76 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 78 before finishing up with a 77.