Thursday, June 09, 2005

            MOSEL, Wis. (June 9, 2005) - It was a tough day for East Tennessee State sophomore Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) and his European teammates, as the United States took a 14-10 victory over Europe to regain one of amateur golf's most prestigious prizes Thursday in the Palmer Cup presented by Monster at the Whistling Straits The Irish.

            Davies, who had helped Europe to a victory in the 2004 Palmer Cup by winning three of a possible four points, provided only a half point to the European cause in 2005. On Thursday, Davies and Georgia State's Steve Tiley lost to Duke's Ryan Blaum and New Mexico's Spencer Levin 3-and-2 in the alternate shot format, and in the fourth and final round, Davies fell 3-and-2 once again to Blaum in the singles match.

            Only a week removed from competing in his first NCAA Championship, Davies has been ranked in the Top 3 national throughout much of the collegiate season and has enjoyed arguably the most successful individual season in ETSU golf history. In 2004-05, Davies set Buccaneer records for individual championships (five), single-round score (63), and three-round score (199), while helping lead the Bucs to their 17^th Southern Conference men's golf championship and finishing second on the individual leaderboard at the NCAA East Regional.