Saturday, March 22, 2003

STATESBORO, Ga. (March 22, 2003) - In an event that features 12 teams that rank in the country's Top 50 - including the nation's No. 1 team and three others that are in the Top 10 - East Tennessee State's men's golf team found it tough to make a dent in the leaderboard during first and second round play at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern Saturday at the Forest Heights Country Club.

Currently, the Bucs are tied for 13th in the 15-team field with a team score of 17-over-par 593. Meanwhile, No. 1-ranked Clemson holds the lead in the team event with a 9-under-par 567, one stroke ahead of No. 5 Wake Forest (569) and four strokes ahead of Southeastern Conference power Auburn (571).

While the Tigers may be third on the team leaderboard, the Tigers are atop the individual standings thanks to Will Claxton's rounds of 69 and 71. At 6-under-par, Claxton enters the final round Sunday with a one-stroke lead over Clemson's Jack Ferguson and teammate Stuart Moore of Auburn.

For the Bucs, sophomore Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales) led the way by finishing tied for 29th place, shooting a 2-over 146, while true freshman Derek McNamara (Galway, Ireland) carded a 4-over 148 to finish in a tie for 41st. Senior James Johnson (Barbados) was one stroke back of McNamara and tied for 50th with a 5-over 149, while sophomores Jeremy Hobson (Thonotosassa, Fla.) and Chase Baldwin (Brandon, Fla.) are currently tied for 54th and 74th, respectively.

Final round play at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational will take place Sunday.

Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
Forest Heights Country Club (Statesboro, Ga.)
Dates: 03/22 - 03/234 (Today: 03-22-2003)
Par: 72; Yardage: 6,962

Fin.	School	Scores
1	Clemson	281-286=567	-9
2	Wake Forest	285-284=569	-7
3	Auburn	286-285=571	-5
4	Florida	287-288=575	-1
	North Carolina State	288-287=575	-1
6	Georgia	289-287=576	E
7	South Carolina	293-287=580	+4
8	North Carolina	293-288=581	+5
9	Augusta State	290-296=586	+10
	Tennessee	290-296=586	+10
11	Duke	293-297=590	+14
12	Georgia Southern	299-292=591	+15
13	Louisiana State	296-297=593	+17
	ETSU	291-302=593	+17
15	Ohio State	302-305=607	+31

Individual Results

1	Will Claxton, Auburn	67-71=138	-6
2	Jack Ferguson, Clemson	72-67=139	-5
	Stuart Moore, Auburn	69-70=139	-5
4	Elrik Johansen, South Carolina	70-70=140	-4
4	Richard Treis, North Carolina	72-68=140	-4

ETSU Individual Scores

T 29	Cennydd Mills	74-72=146	+2
T 41	Derek McNamara	75-73=148	+4
T 50	James Johnson	70-79=149	+5
T 54	Jeremy Hobson	72-78=150	+6
T 74	Chase Baldwin	80-81=161	+17