CHATTANOOGA SCOT JOHNSTON HEADING PALMER CUP QUALIFYING POINTS TABLE

              LIAM JOHNSTON from Dumfries. Leading the chase for places in the

                        Europe team of students for the 2014 Palmer Cup match.

FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA WEBSITE

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee. --- Chattanooga third-year student  Liam Johnston  from Dumfries, Scotland had an unusual autumn campaign. It has resulted in securing the No. 1 spot in the current Palmer Cup Standings for the European team of students to player their United States counterparts at Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey from June 26 to 28 next summer
“It is a great testament to hard work and determination,” Head Coach Mark Guhne stated. “It is well-deserved. Liam could’ve hung his head and not had an impact, but he got an opening and made the most of it.”
Johnston did not compete in the first two tournaments missing out in team qualifying. The US Government shutdown played to his advantage. Air Force had to withdraw from the Brickyard Collegiate which opened an individual spot for the affable Scot.
“We’ve kidded with him that he may be the best player in the country that can’t qualify for his own line-up,” Guhne joked. “He got his shot and made the absolute most of it. I could not be prouder of him.”
Taking advantage of his opportunity is an understatement. Johnston shot six-under par 210 to tie for sixth in the 85-player field. He then tied for second posting minus eight (208) at the AutoTrader.com Collegiate and ended the fall tying for ninth at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate with a level-par 144.
Johnston shot under par in his first six rounds and on seven of his eight cards. There were three rounds in the 60’s as he averaged 70.25 strokes per round and ranks No. 10 in the Golfstat collegiate rankings.

The Palmer Cup is a 10-a-side contest with the top six in each points table at a certain point in the run-up to the Ryder Cup-style tournament gaining automatic selection.

The winner of the R and A Scholars' Tournament at St Andrews also earns a place in the Europe team.

The respective coaches have some wild card selections each.
Johnston’s leadership in the Palmer Cup standings is just another indication of the growth of the Chattanooga men’s golf program. In 2012, the Mocs captured the NCAA Bowling Green Regional with Stephan Jaeger (2009-12) winning medalist honors there en route to becoming the team’s initial first team All-American.

A second Scot on the Chattanooga roster is Chris Robb from Banchory in the North-east of Scotland.
Steven Fox (2010-13) added to the program’s lore and lure later that summer. He completed an improbable run from a playoff for the final match play spots to the championship at the United States Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club outside Denver, Colo.
 

Chattanooga has won five of the last seven Southern Conference Championships. It has competed in NCAA Regionals seven consecutive seasons advancing to the NCAA Championship in 2009 and 2012.

EUROPE PALMER CUP POINTS TABLE

   1 Liam Johnston (Chattanooga) .9876  SCOTLAND
   2 Lars van Meijel (Memphis) .9835   NETHERLANDS
   3 Ben Rusch (Virginia) .9759     SWITZERLAND
   4 Julien Brun (Texas Christian) .9743   FRANCE
   5 Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas) .9735 DENMARK
   6 Greg Eason (Central Florida) .9619  ENGLAND
   7 Ricardo Gouveia (Central Florida) .9552 PORTUGAL
   8 Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) .9544  SPAIN
   9 Rowin Caron (Florida State) .9510  NETHERLANDS
   10 Joel Stalter (California) .9463     FRANCE
   11 Jon Rahm (Arizona State - .9463  SPAIN
   12 Thomas Detry (Illinois) .9453  BELGIUM
   13 Toni Hakula (Texas) .9443 
   14 Erik Oja (Arizona) .9419 SWEDEN
   15 Ryan Fricker (Bethune-Cookman) .9279 ENGLAND
   16 David Boote (Stanford) .9185   WALES
   17 Emilio Cuartero (Missouri) .9181  SPAIN
   18 Matthias Schwab (Vanderbilt).9104  AUSTRIA
   19 Ben Wheeler (Coastal Carolina) .9010  ENGLAND
   20 Thomas Sorensen (Arkansas) .8971 DENMARK

21 Ben Stow (Kenrucky) .8962 ENGLAND

22 Victor Perex (New Mexico) .8922 FRANCE

23 Grant Forrest (San Diego) .8922 SCOTLAND

24 James Newton (Central Arkansas) .8914 ENGLAND

25 Rhys Pugh (East Tennessee State) .8831  WALES

UNITED STATES POINTS TABLE
1    Ollie Schniederjans (Georgia Tech) .9975
2    Trey Mullinax (Alabama) .9975
3    Mark Anguiano (Cal State Fullerton)  .9967
4 J.T. Poston  (Western Carolina) .9951
5  Brandon Hagy (California) .9943
6  Bryson Dechambeau (SMU) .9926
7  Joey Garber (Georgia) .9917
8   Chase Koepka (South Florida) .9893
9  Joey Parkinson  (BYU) .9868
10 Ian Davis  (Oklahoma State) .9818
11 Robby Shelton (Alabama) .9818
12 Bobby Wyatt (Alabama) .9818
13 Lorens Chan (UCLA)  .9818
14 Anders Albertson (Georgia Tech)  .9810
15 Ben Crancer (Texas AandM)  .9709
16 Cameron Wilson, Stanford - .9802
17 Denny McCarthy, Virginia - .9793
18 Wyndham Clark, Oklahoma State - .9785
19 Wilson McDonald, Alabama-Birmingham - .9785
20 Jonathan Garrick, UCLA - .9742

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