Davidson rallies to take team crown in Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate; Temple finishes eighth

 

   Davidson entered the wraparound 2023-2024 season as the three-time reigning Atlantic 10 champion and the performance by the Wildcats in capturing the team title in The Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C., would indicate they are on track to contend for another conference crown next month.

   Davidson carded a second straight 1-under-par 279 over the 6,617-yard, par-70 Palmetto layout in Tuesday’s final round to rally for a six-shot victory over Division II power South Carolina-Aiken, the tournament host, with a 5-over 845 total.

   Davidson had opened with a 7-over 287 before adding the first of its back-to-back 1-under 279s in the afternoon of Monday’s double round. That left the Wildcats a shot behind South Carolina-Aiken, which followed up an opening round of 9-over 289 with the best team round of the tournament, a 4-under 276.

   The Pacers closed with a 6-over 286 to end up with an 11-over 851 total and a runnerup finish.

   South Carolina-Aiken did not go home empty-handed, though, as Rory McDonald O’Brien, a sophomore from England, claimed individual medalist honors with a 3-under 207 total, one shot clear of Davidson’s Joshua Stewart, a freshman from Winter Springs, Fla., and Virginia Tech’s Daniel Azallion, a fifth-year player from Hilton Head Island, S.C., both of whom shared runnerup honors at 2-under 208.

   McDonald O’Brien had added a 2-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 1-under 69 and trailed Davidson’s Will Davis, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., by four shots going into Tuesday’s final round.

   McDonald O’Brien patiently matched par in the final round with a 70 while Davis struggled and that was good enough for McDonald O’Brien to keep it at 3-under and claim the individual title.

   Stewart matched par in each of the first two rounds with a pair of 70s and trailed his teammate Davis by seven shots going into the final round, but closed with a solid 2-under 68 to get a piece of second place at 2-under.

   Azallion had opened with a sparkling 3-under 67 and also fell seven shots behind Davis with a 3-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Azallion matched Stewart’s 2-under 68 in the final round to get his share of second place in the individual chase at 2-under.

   Davidson’s victory in last spring’s A-10 Championship at the Reunion Resort & Golf Club’s Nicklaus Course in Kissimmee, Fla. earned it a spot in the NCAA’s Las Vegas Regional as a 12 seed. The Wildcats failed advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Furman, a Southern Conference entry, finished eight shots behind South Carolina-Aiken in third place with a 19-over 859 total as the Paladins added a 5-over 285 in Monday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 288 before closing with a 286.

   Furman was awarded a spot in the Salem Regional as a 10 seed last spring, but failed to advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   East Carolina, out of the American Athletic Conference, finished a shot behind Furman in fourth place with a 20-over 860 total. The Pirates posted the best team score of the opening round with a 2-under 278 and added a 7-over 287 in Monday afternoon’s second round before struggling to a 295 in the final round.

   Behind Azallion, Virginia Tech, an Atlantic Coast Conference entry, ended up in fifth place, finishing four shots behind East Carolina with a 24-over 864 total. After opening with a solid 3-over 283, the Hokies added a 291 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 290.

   Mercer, another Southern Conference representative, finished a shot behind Virginia Tech in sixth place with a 25-over 865 total as the Bears bounced back from an opening-round 296 with a 5-over 285 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 4-over 284.

   Boise State, a Mountain West Conference entry coming across the country, finished a shot behind Mercer in seventh place with a 26-over 866 total. The Broncos, with two players finishing among the top six in the individual standings, were steady, registering a pair of 7-over 287s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 292.

   It was the second tournament of the spring for Temple, an AAC rival of East Carolina, and the Owls finished three shots behind Boise State in eighth place in the 15-team field with a 29-over 869 total. Temple got off to a good start with a 6-over 286 in the opening round and added a 291 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 292.

   Temple’s solid start was fueled by an opening round of 2-under 68 by junior Joey Morganti, the Havertown resident who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep. Morganti is having a nice junior season for Temple, highlighted by a playoff victory in last fall’s City 6 Championship at Sunnybrook Golf Club.

   Morganti, a product of the junior program at Llanerch Country Club, added a 1-over 71 in the second round before closing with a 76 that left him among a trio of players tied for 15^th place in the individual standings with a 5-over 215 total.

   Backing up Stewart for Davidson was Davis, who was the hottest player on the property in Monday’s double round, adding a 4-under 66, matching the low round of the tournament, in the afternoon to his opening round of 3-under 67 as he took a four-shot lead into the final round.

   Davis struggled to a 7-over 77 in the final round, but still finished in a tie for fourth place with an even-par 210 total.

   Alex Heffner, a sophomore from Harrisburg, N.C., was the low Wildcat in the final round as he signed for a 3-under 67 to finish in the group tied for 11^th place with a 4-over 214 total. Heffner, the reigning A-10 individual champion, opened with a 5-over 75 before adding a 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Benjamin Newfield, a freshman from Arlington, Va., finished among the group tied for 31^st place with a 220 total as he added a 1-over 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 74.

   Rounding out the Davidson lineup was Price Miller, a sophomore from Atlanta, Ga. who matched par in the final round with a 70 to land among a trio of players tied for 38^th place with a 221 total. Miller had struggled to a 77 in the opening round before bouncing back with a 4-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Joining Davidson’s Davis in the tie for fourth place at even-par was Boise State’s Alex Talbot, a redshirt senior from England. Talbot carded a pair of 1-under 69s in Monday’s double round that left him five shots behind Davis going into the final round. A 2-over 72 in the final round gave Talbot his share of fourth place.

   Cole Rueck, a sophomore from Corvallis, Ore., gave Boise State another finisher in the top six as he ended up in a tie for sixth place with East Carolina’s Lucas Augustsson, a sophomore from Sweden, each landing on 2-over 212.

   Rueck opened with a solid 2-under 69 and added a 1-over 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up a 73. After opening with a solid 2-under 68, Augustsson recorded back-to-back 2-over 72s in the final two rounds.

   Furman’s Trey Diehl, a junior from Orlando, Fla., Mercer’s Tobias Jonsson, a senior from Sweden, and Maryland’s Florian Huerlimann, a junior from Germany, rounded out the top 10 in the individual standings as they finished in a tie for eighth place, each landing on 3-over 213.

   Diehl added a 2-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 71 before matching par in the final round with a 70. Jonsson, who represented Mercer while competing as an individual in the Auburn Regional last spring, bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 73 with a 2-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 72.

   Huerlimann got off to a great start with a 3-under 67 before adding back-to-back 2-over 72s in the final two rounds.

   Backing up Morganti for Temple was Ethan Whitney, a junior from Westminster, Mass. who finished in the group tied for 26^th place with a 9-over 219 total. Whitney was consistent with three straight 3-over 73s.

   Graham Chase, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., and Michael Walsh, a junior from Shelburne, Vt., both landed among the group tied for 31^st place at 220 for the Owls.

   Chase added a 3-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 76 before closing with his best round of the tournament, a 1-over 71. Walsh, who transferred to Temple from Lafayette, finished up with a 2-over 72 after registering back-to-back 4-over 74s in the first two rounds.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was Aiden Emmerich, a sophomore from Swampscott, Mass. who finished in a tie for 55^th place with a 227 total. Emmerich, who transferred to Temple from Michigan State, contributed a solid 1-over 71 to the Owls’ good start in the opening round and added a 6-over 76 in Monday afternoon’s second round before struggling to an 80 in the final round.