March 27, 2004
FURMAN HOLDS ON FOR FOUR-STROKE LEAD ENTERING FINAL ROUND OF 35TH ANNUAL INTERCOLLEGIATE
GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- The Hokies of Virginia Tech carded the day’s low round on Saturday, but the Paladins of Furman fired 292 and hold a four stroke lead over Tech entering the Furman Intercollegiate’s final round Sunday at the Furman University Golf Course.
Virginia Tech shot a one-over 289 on the strength of a 70 by Joel Kraner, a 71 by Scott Wise, a 73 by Ryan Sypniewski, and a 75 by Ryan Stinnett. Furman, meanwhile, parlayed a 72 by Rob Langley, a pair of 73s by Buddy Davis and Matt Davidson, and a 74 by T.J. Blandford into a 292, and enter the final round in familiar position. Virginia Tech has won the Furman Intercollegiate the last three years, and Furman has finished as runner up. In fact, in 2001 the Paladins held a six stroke advantage entering round three, only to fall by four strokes. Since the Furman Intercollegiate’s inception in 1970, the Furman team has won just one title, and that was in 1986 when the Paladins fashioned a tournament record 844 tally that still stands as the competition’s best.
In this year’s individual race Tech’s Kraner sits atop the leaderboard at 142, following rounds of 72-70. Furman sophomore T.J. Blandford (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) is second at 143 (69-74), while the Paladins’ Matt Davidson (West Windsor, N.J) and Rob Langley (Atlanta, Ga.) are tied for third at 144 with Coastal Carolina’s Alvaro Velasco. Andy Bare of UNC Greensboro and Scott Wise of Virginia Tech sit just three strokes out of the lead at 145. Bare helped himself out on Saturday with a hole-in-one on the 153 yard eighth hole. It was the fifth hole-in-one in tournament history.
In addition to Blandford, Davidson and Langley in the top three, Furman’s “B” team leader, Shane Birckbichler (Travelers Rest, S.C.) is in eighth at 146 and senior Buddy Davis (Orlando, Fla.) is tied for 13th at 147. Furman individual Thomas Self (Greenwood, S.C.) is also among the top 25 - he is tied for 21st with a two-round 149.
The third and final round of the 35th annual Furman Intercollegiate is slated for Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. at the Furman University Golf Course. The tournament leaders (Furman, Virginia Tech, Michigan, and UNC Greensboro) will begin teeing off No. 1 at 9:40 a.m.