SATTERFIELD CAPTURES FURMAN INTERCOLLEGIATE MEDALIST HONORS;
VIRGINIA TECH OVERCOMES FURMAN FOR TEAM TITLE
GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Virginia Tech fired a tournament-low 283 to oust Furman from atop the leaderboard at the 32nd annual Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday, but the Paladins' Kirk Satterfield carded a 70 to finish eight under for the tournament, winning his first collegiate title with a three stroke cushion.
Satterfield entered the final round with a three stroke lead over four players. The junior from Bluefield, W.Va., quickly went to two under on the round with birdies on numbers two and three, then turned at one under after carding a four on the par three eighth hole. On the backside, Satterfield again took it to two under with a birdie on the par five 11th, but gave one back on the par three 14th to stand at one under with four holes to play. A birdie on the par five 15th was followed by pars on the last three holes, and Satterfield became the first Paladin to win his own tournament since 1990, when Todd White picked up his second consecutive Intercollegiate title.
"I think Kirk has worked really hard on his game," said coach Todd Satterfield. "We all knew he had this in him, so it was great to see him finally put one on the board."
The 12th-ranked Hokies of Virginia Tech erased Furman's hopes of winning its first Intercollegiate Title since 1986, with a scorching five-under in Sunday's final round. Tech's Ryan Stinnett posted a three-under 69 to get things rolling in the Hokies favor, then Brendon deJonge and Brian Krusoe each came in at 71. Chris McKeel rounded out the Tech counters with a 72, while Johnson Wagner, who was seventh entering the final round, carded a 75 to fall into 14th.
Furman, meanwhile, was led by Satterfield's 70. Sophomore David Sligh added a 72 to the Paladin effort and tied with Buddy Davis, who carded a final-round 76, for 27th overall. Noble Judy contributed a 75 to the Furman score and was 18th overall, while Matt Davidson was the team's non-counter on the day with a 77. Furman ended the tournament with an 868 total, four strokes off Tech's pace, and 10 strokes better than Francis Marion and Rhode Island, the two teams that tied for third at 878.
Furman's B team also posted some good numbers on Sunday. Vance Embry and Brian Scurlock each fired 71 to finish 15th and 31st, respectively, while Tom Wyatt carded a 79 and placed 62nd overall.
The Paladin golf team is in action again on March 31, in the first round of the Cleveland-Augusta State Invitational in Augusta, Ga.