Sunday, May 22, 2005

            JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 22, 2005) - East Tennessee State sophomore Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) announced on Sunday that he will accept an invitation to compete as an individual at the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at the Caves Valley Golf Club near Baltimore, Md.

            Even though the ETSU men's golf team's 13^th-place finish in the NCAA East Regional did not give them a team berth in the NCAAs, Davies' second-place finish on the individual leaderboard was good enough to earn an invitation. However, the scheduled conflicted with the 2005 British Amateur, leaving Davies with a decision to make.

            "Obviously, if the team had made it to the NCAA Championships there would have been no hesitation and I was going," Davies said. "The only difference was when the team didn't qualify for the NCAAs and the British Amateur was the same weekend, it left me with a decision to make. It's difficult in the sense that both are top tournaments, and the British Amateur is my home country's event. But I'm happy with my decision and I'm looking forward to competing at the NCAAs."

            ETSU head coach Fred Warren said he understood Davies' situation, but was pleased with the ultimate choice that was made.

            "I'm glad and delighted he's representing ETSU at the national tournament," Warren said. "Rhys has had a great season and I'm glad it's continuing."

            Indeed, Davies has enjoyed a record-setting season at ETSU, winning a program-best five individual championships, and setting new marks for single round score (63) and three-round score (66-65-68=199). Davies has fired 13 rounds in the 60s this year, and has finished in the Top 3 in nine of 11 events.