George Mason University’s men’s golf team finished as runner-up to Penn State at the 49th annual Rutherford Intercollegiate, according to an April 19 announcement. The tournament took place at the Penn State Blue Course and featured a field of 13 teams.
This result marks George Mason’s best performance in its 18 appearances at the event. The Patriots posted a score of +2, trailing only host Penn State, which finished nine under par. The team also placed ahead of Atlantic-10 opponent Rhode Island, which ended one stroke behind.
Prior to this year, George Mason’s highest finish in the tournament was fifth place during the 2002-03 season. In recent years, they had finished ninth and tenth in previous editions of the event.
Sophomore Vaughn McMeans led the Patriots with a sixth-place individual finish after shooting one-under-par over three rounds (70-71-71=212). This marks his fifth top-ten result this season. Joe Johnson and JJ Powell tied for 23rd out of a field of 75 golfers. Johnson recorded an eagle on hole nine and carded an even-par final round after posting George Mason’s lowest single-round score—a second-round 68—in his first tournament as a Patriot. Powell also delivered his best round with a three-under-par effort in round two.
Other contributors included David Fuhrer (T28) and Sivawong Aukrawat (T46), helping secure George Mason’s fifth top-five finish this spring season.
