AIKEN, S.C.-- Chattanooga completed their wire-to-wire runaway victory of the 11th Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate on Tuesday with a final round of 282. The 16th-ranked Mocs (+10) won the event by 30 strokes over #29 Virginia Tech (+40), while Francis Marion plcaed seventh.
USC Aiken (+41), the three-time defending champs of the event, placed third, one shot behind the Hokies. The 30-stroke victory shattered the tournament record for margin of victory by 15 shots, set ironically by Virginia Tech in 2002 over South Florida and the rest of the 15-team field.
The 54-hole event was contested at the 6,565 yard, par 70 Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. Founded in 1892, Palmetto is recognized as the fourth oldest golf course in the United States and holds the oldest membership certificate to the USGA still in existence.
The prestigious Division I field featured three teams ranked in the top 30 including #16 Chattanooga, #22 Penn State, and #29 Virginia Tech.
Penn State (+50) finished nine back of USCA, while Elon (+52) completed an unchanged top five. Furman (+54) and Francis Marion (+55) switched places with each other while Charleston Southern (+60), Jacksonville State (+65), and UNC Greensboro (+72) rounded out the top 10.
The round of the tournament belonged to Chattanooga’s Jonathan Hodge who birdied three of his final five holes to shoot a two-day best three-under-par 67. Hodge improved from sixth after 36 holes to capture medalist honors at two-over-par 212. Jimmy Lytle of Elon, Chattanooga’s Fredrik Qvicker, and Jurrian van der Vaart of Virginia Tech all tied for second at three-over-par 213.
Christopher Couch led the FMU golfers with an 11th-place finish at 73-76-70=219. Andrew Pitcher (75-76-74=225) tied for 26th, while Ronan O'Connor (78-73-77=228) tied for 39th, and Peter McGibney (72-77-80=229) and Keith Crowley (77-77-75=229) tied for 41st.
Francis Marion will play in the First Market Bank Intercollegiate, hosted by William & Mary College, on Monday and Tuesday in Williamsburg, Va.
11th CLEVELAND GOLF PALMETTO INTERCOLLEGIATE
PALMETTO G.C. AIKEN, SC
PAR: 70 YARDAGE: 6,565
TEAM RESULTS
1 UT-Chattanooga 289 279 282 850 +10
2 Virginia Tech 297 287 296 880 +40
3 USC Aiken 301 291 289 881 +41
4 Penn State 294 303 293 890 +50
5 Elon 300 297 295 892 +52
6 Furman 304 300 290 894 +54
7 Francis Marion 297 302 296 895 +55
8 Charleston Southern 302 306 292 900 +60
9 Jacksonville State 300 309 296 905 +65
10 UNC Greensboro 298 313 301 912 +72
11 Rhode Island 302 307 305 914 +74
12 Presbyterian 314 305 303 922 +82
13 Akron 320 300 310 930 +90
14 Marshall 314 303 315 932 +92
15 Nebraska 323 309 310 942 +102
