March 19, 2011

First Round Results/Live Stats

Greenville, S.C. - East Carolina junior Harold Varner fired a five-under par 67 to finish in second-place after the opening round of the 42nd Annual Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club on Friday. Varner trails Purdue's William Sjaichudin by two strokes for the overall individual lead.

Zach Edmondson shot a three-under 69 and David Watkins pared the course to help the Pirates shoot even-par 288 as a team and claim fourth-place through 18 holes. Edmondson is four strokes behind the leader in fourth-place while Watkins is seven strokes back tied for 15th.

Four Kennesaw State golfers recorded rounds of 73 or better as the Owls shot six-under par 282 and jumped out to a three-stroke lead. Virginia Tech (-3), Clemson (-1), East Carolina (E), Gardner-Webb (+5) and Purdue (+6) rounded out the top six after the opening round of the 54-hole tournament while host Furman (+8) and Winthrop are tied for seventh place.

Sjaichudin, a junior from Jakarta, Indonesia, birdied nine holes on Friday to build a two-stroke lead on Varner who birdied six of the first 15 holes before he closed out his round with a bogey on 18. Edmondson is one of four golfers are tied for fourth at three-under par.

Second round play is slated to begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. with final round action scheduled for Sunday morning.