The Furman Men’s Golf Team assembled in Myrtle Beach, S.C. early this week to compete in the General Hackler Championship. The tournament showcased 14 schools from across the country, and Furman was joined by three other Southern Conference teams: Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, and Western Carolina. Other notable schools included Louisville, College of Charleston, and Liberty University.
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club hosted the tournament. The club hosts many other events for the Senior Tour, Amateur and United States Golf Association (USGA) Championships. The golf course boasts a repeated appearance in the “Top 100 Golf Courses” lists in all of the major golf magazines.
The Dins sent out a typical five-man lineup and one individual to the three-day tournament. In the one spot was junior Will Morlan, who was voted to the All-Southern Conference Team last season with his record-tying three individual titles. Playing in the two was fifth-year Ross Funderburke, followed by sophomore Harris Barth in the three spot. Rounding out the top five were junior Trey Diehl and fifth-year Walker Crosby.
As is customary, Furman also sent sophomore Clark Akers as an individual golfer to compete and gain tournament experience. However, he was only eligible for individual scores rather than team contributions.
The first round of play on Monday, March 18 saw the Dins start with a flurry of birdies on the front nine holes. Five of the six Furman golfers shot even par or better on the front nine of day one. After that, the scores began to fluctuate. Morlan played consistent golf, finishing one shot over par and posting 13 pars in 18 holes.
Diehl had a few mistakes on holes 12 and 13, recording back-to-back double bogeys and setting him off track. Akers birdied holes 12 and 16 on the back nine and, despite finishing with a double bogey at the last, posted a three-under-par round of 69. The Dins placed seventh at four over as a squad and just six shots back of the lead after round one.
On Tuesday, March 19, the Dins found more favor on the back nine, shooting three under combined as a team. Diehl bounced back from Monday, firing a five-under 67 with six birdies on his scorecard. Furman’s consistent play, and some help from other teams, bumped them up to fourth place by the end of day two, at four over par. The real story of day two, however, was Akers, who bettered his score from Monday by one shot and found himself with a two-shot lead over the entire field at seven-under-par.
The Dins saved their best for last in round three, as their stellar play kept them in contention throughout the day. Barth put together a string of three birdies in a row on holes 11 through thirteen to vault the Dins as high as second place as a team midway through the afternoon. Morlan also went under par on the day with a colorful scorecard that contained six birdies and five bogeys. Akers held his own for much of the day before falling victim to a double bogey on his 15th hole of the round, dropping him out of solo first place.
The Paladins secured third place as a team with a score of one over par. They fell one shot short of second-placed Coastal Carolina and trailed champion Louisville by six shots. Akers locked up a career-best with a tie for third place at six under for the tournament.
With this promising performance behind them, the Dins will look ahead to a tournament that they are familiar playing in: the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate on March 24-26.
