Palmetto Intercollegiate: Davidson wins by six over hometown favorite S.C. Aiken

March 5, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Davidson Men's Golf team (Davidson Athletics Photo)

Rory McDonald O'Brien of S.C. Aiken won by one shot over Joshua Stewart of Davidson and Daniel Azallion of Virginia Tech

Davidson College was the only team to shoot an under-par final round, and that propelled them to a six-shot win at the 2024 Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C.

Davidson shot a 5-over total to defeat South Carolina Aiken by six shots after S.C. Aiken finished in solo second place at 11-over. Davidson shot rounds of 287-279-279 to get to 5-over

Furman finished in solo third place at 19-over, East Carolina finished in solo fourth place at 20-over, and Virginia Tech finished in solo fifth place at 24-over.

In the individual competition, Rory McDonald O'Brien of S.C. Aiken won by one shot over Joshua Stewart of Davidson and Daniel Azallion of Virginia Tech

O'Brien shot 3-under, while Stewart and Azallion finished T2 at 2-under. Alex Talbot of Boise State and Will Davis of Davidson finished T4 at even par.

O'Brien shot a final round even par 70 to hold off the chasers, and birdies on Holes No. 13 and 14 helped him secure the one-shot win.

Palmetto Golf Club was established in 1892, but the course was revised in 1933 by Alister MacKenzie, the famed Scottish golf course architect whose designs include Augusta National, Cypress Point, and Royal Melbourne.

Palmetto is old-style golf, from holes like the short blind par-4 15th and the severe par-3 7th to the small clubhouse designed in 1902 by Stanford White. There are enough shorter par 4's to make a low score possible (witness Dane Burkhart's closing 59 to win the 2005 event), but there are enough elevation changes, excellent green contours, and quirks to keep players off balance.

Results: Palmetto Intercollegiate

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Rory McDonald O'Brien	, England	400	69-68-70=207
T2	Joshua Stewart	Winter Springs, FL	300	70-70-68=208
T2	Daniel Azallion	Hilton Head, SC	300	67-73-68=208
T4	Alex Talbot	, England	200	69-69-72=210
T4	Will Davis	Jacksonville, FL	200	67-66-77=210