By MONTE DUTTON

Myths spread by golf announcers:

“The straight putts are always the hard ones.’

No. I never displayed much prowess on the links, but I don’t believe my experience was so radically different.

“He has never been better mentally on the golf course.” You should have seen him get physical with an algorithm.

“He is a great striker of the ball.” As opposed to all those other bums, who merely hit, hammer, pummel, pound, fluff, pitch and putt their balls. Doomed mortals.

“He’s had a chance on every up and down.” More often, the downs.

The best way to distinguish American golfers from all others is the walk.

With Scheffler (Scottie), Schauffele (Xander) and de Chambeau (Bryson) so prominent, I wish Daffy Duck would join the telecast. Suffering succotash!

Some might take umbrage at my references above all being males. I was watching the British Open, mainly to listen to the language.

I’m sorry.

On to doings in the Principality of Purple.

A scheduling alliance of the Southern and Atlantic Sun conferences pits Furman against Jacksonville and Florida Gulf Coast in a pair of early men’s basketball games.

As a part of the alliance, each SoCon team will play two games against ASUN opposition. The Paladins host the Jacksonville Dolphins on Nov. 11 before traveling to Fort Myers, Fla., to take on FGCU on Dec. 4.

Furman head coach Bobby Richey called the deal “a great opportunity for each league member to lock in two quality, non-conference games during a time when scheduling can be difficult at the mid-major level.”

Round 1:

Nov. 4 – FGCU @ UNCG

Nov. 8 – Eastern Kentucky @ ETSU

Nov. 8 – Western Carolina @ Queens

Nov. 9 – VMI @ Bellarmine

Nov. 9 – Wofford @ Lipscomb

Nov. 11 – Stetson @ The Citadel

Nov. 11 – Jacksonville @ Furman

Nov. 11 – Chattanooga @ Austin Peay

Nov. 14/15 – Samford @ North Alabama

Dec. 4 – West Georgia @ Mercer

Round 2:

Dec. 1 – North Alabama @ Wofford

Dec. 3 – Lipscomb @ UTC

Dec. 4 – Bellarmine @ Western Carolina

Dec. 4 – Furman @ FGCU

Dec. 7 – Queens @ VMI

Dec. 8 – Austin Peay @ Samford

Dec. 8 – Mercer @ Stetson

Dec. 14 – East Tennessee @ Jacksonville

Dec. 14 – UNCG @ North Florida

Dec. 16 – The Citadel @ Central Arkansas

Women’s basketball head coach Pierre Curtis added Jauwan Scaife as assistant coach.

Scaife comes to Furman following one season at Virginia Tech, where he played a part in the Hokies’ 25-8 campaign that featured an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship (14-4 ACC) and NCAA Tournament second-round appearance.

A native of Muncie, Indiana, he spent the 2022-23 season at Ball State, his alma mater. The Cardinals went 26-9 (14-4 MAC) and competed in the second round of the WNIT.

Scaife has also coached at Utah State, Murray State, Evansville and Southeast Missouri State.

He completed his master’s degree in physical education from Ball State, where he starred on the men’s team, in 2013. He and his wife, Rebecca, have a daughter, Jewell.

Men’s golf coach Matt Davidson released the team’s schedule for the school year.

 The Paladin schedule includes 11 tournaments, with five slated for the fall and six in the spring.

“Whenever we are putting together the schedule, our top priority is finding great competition and great golf courses. This schedule absolutely has both,” Davidson stated.

Furman opens the fall season at the Gopher Invitational in Independence, Minn., Sept. 8-9. 

The NCAA regional championships are May 12-14 at six campus sites, and the NCAA Championship are May 23-28 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

Take a look at the schedule here.

Coach Robert Gary announced the cross country teams’ schedules.

The Paladins open the season Sept. 6 at the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, , before hosting the Furman Invitational on Sept. 14 in Greenville

Furman, which has won 11-straight Southern Conference championships, will defend its league titles on Nov. 2. The Paladins will be hosting the SoCon Championship this year in Greenville.

 “We feel we have two teams that can both advance to the NCAA championships, and our schedule is as competitive as any other program’s in the country as a result,” stated Gary.

Furman returns 13 runners from last year’s squad on the women’s side, while 12 Paladins return on the men’s side.

Take a look at the schedule here.

First-year head lacrosse coach Gail Wallach named Bella Karstien an assistant coach.
Karstien, a native of Reading, Pa., just concluded a four-year collegiate career that saw her log 65 career games at Louisville and Clemson.
Karstien played two seasons at Clemson under head coach Allison Kwolek, starting in all 36 games for the Tigers at defense.
She graduated from Clemson with a degree in psychology.

Volleyball was one of more than 1,400 programs to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT.

The award honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.
The Paladins were one of five SoCon programs to receive the award along with Chattanooga, The Citadel, Mercer, Western Carolina and Wofford.

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