ETSU finished fourth behind Furman, Georgia Southern and UNC-G as the Southern Conference Championships concluded on Tuesday.
Furman won both the individual and team titles for their 12th SoCon title and first since 1997.
The championships were held at The Ridges in Jonesborough so the Bucs were the host school. The team performed well in the final round shooting an overall 291, but they got too far behind on the first two days to make a run for the title. Furman claimed the title and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA regional. ETSU coach Fred Warren was not too pleased with the overall performance of the team.
“Our team’s performance was a little disappointing, we came in here as a slight underdog this year to Georgia Southern and Furman, and we felt like playing at The Ridges might help us but unfortunately our guys didn’t play as well as they were capable of,” said Warren.
The best performer in the tournament for ETSU was freshman Rhys Davies.
The Wales native finished second overall for the individual championship, earned First Team All-SoCon and collected the Freshman of the Year award in the SoCon for the 2003-2004 season.
He put together rounds of 71, 73, and 70. Davies had the lead going into the final day of the championship, but Furman’s Matt Davidson shot a 67 on Tuesday to take the title.
“Rhys’play is very much of a bright spot, especially for a freshman,” said Warren.
The another top performer for the Bucs was Andrew Paduch, who finished tied for 13th and shot a 71 on Tuesday.
“Andrew Paduch played solid golf from here in Johnson City, and he played very well today. I’m proud of Andrew’s play,” said Warren.
Cennydd Mills finished tied for 23rd, Jeremy Hobson finished tied for 31st and Chase Baldwin finished tied for 49th for ETSU.
The rain and lack of wind may have played a factor in the lower scores at The Ridges on Tuesday because the greens were noticeably softer than the first two days of the championship.
“One of the trademarks at The Ridges is that it has very fast greens, very pure greens, to be honest with you- they have been compared to Augusta National,” said Warren, “But the rain has softened them (the greens) up and made putting a little easier and chipping, but that’s one of the biggest challenges out here is to try and figure out the greens.”
ETSU’s season is now over and they are looking ahead to next year, when they will host the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate in the fall at The Ridges Sept. 11th and 12th.
The tournament is one of the biggest of the year and it features teams from all over the South including from the ACC and SEC.
The Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate also showcases some of the best college golfers in the nation and Florida is the defending champion.
Warren is looking forward to seeing what this ETSU team can do next season.
“We have a young team, everyone is back, so hopefully, we will see some good golf in the future,” said Warren.
Matt Davidson held a one-stroke lead into the 17th hole. Davidson was behind Davies going into the final day of play Tuesday.
The Paladins trailed UNC Greensboro after the first nine holes of the day but took over through the back nine for their first victory in twelve years.
Rhys Davies was named the SoCon’s freshman of the year.

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