April 13, 2010

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Samford University men's golf team placed ninth at the 22nd Annual Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational on Tuesday as the Bulldogs closed out the two-day competition with a final round score of 308. Samford's Martin Bunt paced the team with a 54-hole score of 221 as he earned a 29th-place finish.

Samford entered its final round as the sixth-place team in the tournament's 13-team field, but turned in its worst 18-hole performance of the competition Tuesday. After the Bulldogs fired a team-best round of 287 on Monday, Samford finished with a lackluster 308 on Tuesday.

"I was very pleased again with the play from a young freshman team in the first two rounds, but the last round was a disappointment," said Samford head coach Woodie Eubanks. "During the last round, we put too much pressure on ourselves to succeed. That pressure is holding us back and when we learn to deal with that, then all the pieces will fall into place."

East Tennessee State led wire to wire to claim the 22nd annual Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational title. The two-day competition was hosted by Wofford College at the Country Club of Spartanburg.

The Buccaneers recorded a team score of 847 over three rounds of play, using the strength of a 277 score in the second round to finish at 17 under par.

Michael Stewart of East Tennessee State took the individual title with a score of 7-under-par 65 on Tuesday. Stewart recorded 16 birdies and a tournament-low score of 66 in the second round to finish with a score of 209 (72-66-71). Fellow Buccaneer Seamus Power tied for second place with a score of 210, matching the performance of Charleston Southern's Jacobo Pastor to also finish 6-under par.

Samford's Bunt led the team with a three-round score of 221, while true freshmen Casey O'Toole and Bill Nabors both finished just one stroke behind at 222. O'Toole, the Bulldogs' native of Oneonta, Ala., turned in the team's best round Tuesday with a 3-over-par 75.

Drew Aimone and Gabe Hyde, two more of Samford's talented true freshmen, also turned in solid scores Tuesday. Aimone, the Bulldogs' native of Savannah, Ga., carded a third-round score of 77 on Tuesday and closed out the tournament with a 54-hole tally of 223. Hyde registered a 78 in his final round and concluded the two-day competition with a 232.

"We have a lot of positives to build from this year since we are so young, but the inexperience usually seems to hurt us at some point during each tournament," Eubanks said. "We are looking forward to the conference championships, but our young team will need to stay even keel for the entire tournament. I believe in this team and I look forward to the future."

The Samford University men's golf team will next be in action April 18-20 as the Bulldogs are scheduled to compete in the all-important 2010 Southern Conference Championships to be held at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.

Final Results - 2010 Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational