PALADINS FINISH FIFTH AT SOCON CHAMPIONSHIPS

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---Furman's Paladin golf team fired a final round 287 Sunday at the Southern Conference Championships, but fell into fifth as they were passed by Appalachian State and Georgia Southern on the last day of the tournament.

Wofford's William McGirt parred the first hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday to win the individual title at the Southern Conference Men's Golf Championships. McGirt was tied with East Tennessee State's Pat Beste at five-under-par 205 after regulation. The Wofford senior two-putted on the 352-yard, par four first hole at the par-70 Chattanooga Golf and Country Club. Beste's tee shot on the playoff hole went left of the fairway among a tree-lined area, and he managed a bogey to finish runner-up. Ironically, Beste was last year's SoCon medallist while McGirt finished a stroke back to place second.

ETSU ran away with the team title, firing a tournament-low 11-under 269 Sunday to finish at nine-under 831. Four of the Bucs were under par for the day. College of Charleston was 19 strokes back in second place (850), and Georgia Southern finished third (857).

It is ETSU's fourth consecutive conference title and seventh in the last eight years. The Bucs earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals. Furman, on the other hand, will await the NCAA's May 8 announcement of the men's golf championship bracket, to see if they receive an at-large bid.

TEAM STANDINGS
1. ETSU 287-275-269 831 -9
2. College of Charleston 286-287-277 850 +10
3. Georgia Southern 296-286-275 857 +17
4. Appalachian State 291-287-281 859 +19
5. Furman 283-291-287 861 +21
6. UNC Greensboro 295-288-280 863 +23
7. Chattanooga 295-296-283 874 +34
8. Wofford 289-296-293 878 +38
9. Western Carolina 305-297-291 893 +53
10. Davidson 297-302-297 896 +56
11. The Citadel 326-328-316 970 +130
12. VMI 321-335-331 987 +147 TOP

FURMAN
t10. Matt Davidson 72-71-69 212
t13. Kirk Satterfield 69-73-73 215
t16. Noble Judy 71-73-72 216
27. David Sligh 71-74-74 219
t31. Brian Scurlock 73-76-73 222