March 20, 2010

Greenville, S.C. - Western Carolina's men's golf team shot 306 on Saturday to slip two spots into fifth place overall after the second round at the 41st annual Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Course. First-round individual leader, WCU senior Tanner Briele, slipped to fourth after carding a six-over 78 in the second round.

Chattanooga's Steven Fox fired a four-under par 68 on Saturday to grab sole possession of first place and help the Mocs into a three-stroke lead over Clemson after two rounds. Fox (70-68=138) birdied six holes, including four in a row, to guide Chattanooga (289-291=580) to a three-over 291. The Mocs hold an 11-stroke advantage over third place Old Dominion (293-298=591) entering Sunday's final round with Furman (305-290=595) recording the best team score of the round with a two-over 290 to climb from 14th place into fourth.

Western Carolina is two strokes out of fourth place at 597 and six swings behind ODU.

One day after firing a tournament and course-record round of 65, Briele's 78 on Saturday dropped him three spots in the standings to fourth with a two-round total of one-under, 143. After not carding a single bogey on Friday, Briele penciled in six on Saturday including four on the back nine and a double-bogey on the par 3 eighth. The New Bern, N.C., native is just five strokes in arrears of tournament leader, Fox.

Senior Ricky Stout led the Catamounts in the second round, trimming four strokes off his opening round score to shoot two-over, 74, on Saturday to move from a tie for 43rd into a tie for 29th. Stout, who scored three bogies against one birdie on Saturday, is tied with teammate Kyle Wilson, who fell from ninth into the tie for 29th after also carding a six-over, 78.

Opening on the back nine, Drew Miller shot two-under 34 on the front nine to conclude his round, posting a birdie and an Eagle on the par 5 second hole. However, two bogies cancelled out a pair of birdies on the back with a double-bogey and a five-over 10 forced him to make the turn at seven over, finishing at five-over 77 to be in the clubhouse tied for 69th.

Rounding out the Catamount order was freshman Trey White who shaved five strokes off his opening round to shoot 77 on Saturday to move into a tie for 103rd overall. Playing as an individual, senior Benjy Davey carded a four-over 76 to move into a tie for 78th overall.

Sunday's final round action begins at 8:00 am with teams teeing off of both No. 1 and No. 10. Playing with Furman and Presbyterian, the Catamounts tee-off on the front nine beginning at noon. Fans can follow live scoring of the tournament at www.golfstatresults.com.

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Catamount Sports Men's Golf