Both Furman Men’s and Women’s Golf competed the week of Apr. 19 in a Southern Conference Championship Tournament.
The Furman Men’s team played at the Oconee Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA. The Par 72, 7,393-yard championship course proved difficult for most of the field; only four golfers finished under par for the week. The ‘Dins were led by Senior Keller Harper. He carded rounds of 70-70-71 to finish the week at -5. This impressive play secured a top-3 placement for Harper. As a result of this stellar performance, he will be assigned individually to a NCAA Regional tournament. From there, Harper will attempt to secure an individual spot in the NCAA Championship.
Other notable performances include play from freshman Mac Scott, sophomore Ross Funderburke, and Junior Jack Crosby. All three golfer broke 230 over three rounds played. Scott, playing in his first SoCon Championship, notched a ninth-place finish with rounds of 72-72-76. Scott’s impressive showing is extremely promising for the Paladins, and he will likely position himself to take the number one spot on the team when Harper graduates. Crosby’s best round came on Day 2 after carding a 74, another consistent showing for the Junior from Tennessee. Similarly, Funderburke recorded his best round on Day 2 with an even-par score of 72. Finally, Sophomore Reynolds Lambert shot 80 (+8) as an individual player for Furman.
The Lady Paladins also competed in the Southern Conference Tournament. Their tournament took place at Oak Point Golf Club at Kiawah Island Golf Resort over on Johns Island.
In a very solid, but heartbreaking tournament, the Lady Paladins finished in second place. Their second-place performance was only 1-stroke shy of a Southern Conference Title. Unfortunately, ETSU eclipsed the Paladins by one shot with a score of 876 over three days. The ‘Dins impressive play is not to be taken for granted though. They broke 300 two out of three days with scores of 287, 289 and finally 301.
Furman had two players finish first and second. Junior Sarah-Eve Rhéaume finished the tournament at -4 and secured a Conference Individual Championship! Not only did Rhéaume finish first, but she had a teammate accompany her in second place. Madison Moosa finished the tournament at 3-under par, only one shot back of Rhéaume. Legendary Furman coach Jeff Hull said this about Moosa and Rhéaume’s performances: “She [Rhéaume] played incredibly well over the last two days. It was really nice for her to get her first career win at the SoCon championship and earn the automatic individual bid into regionals. I am also very proud of Madison, who played really well the last two rounds to finish second. This was a great way to end her SoCon career.”
Other performances for the Paladins include Anna Morgan’s +7 total, Carly Burkhardt’s +13 total, and Sophia Burnett’s +20 total. Furman held a 3-stroke lead heading into the final three holes of the tournament but was outpaced by ETSU’s even-par finish over those final three holes. Rhéaume’s impressive play earned her an individual entry into the NCAA Championships, which will begin May 10-12. The rest of the Lady Paladins will await possible entry into one of four regional sites with hopes of competing for an NCAA Championship when the tournament field is announced by the NCAA tournament committee on Apr. 28.
