LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 10, 2005) - Make it five championships for East Tennessee State sophomore golfer Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales).

By firing a 73 on Tuesday in the final round of the UK Derby Invitational at the University Club of Kentucky's Big Blue Course, Davies finished at 10-under for the event and captured the individual title by three strokes over Kentucky's John Holmes. The victory marks an ETSU record fifth individual championship for Davies during the 2004-05 season.

"It's really phenomenal what he has accomplished with five wins this year," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "It was cold and windy today, so the conditions made the course play much tougher than yesterday. Rhys just played another solid round of golf and continues to be very impressive out there."

Holmes actually pulled even at the top of the leaderboard just seven holes into the third and final round, quickly taking away the three-stroke advantage that Davies had enjoyed entering the final day of play. However, Davies stayed methodical with his game, picking up a birdie on the Par 3 No. 8 hole and holding on for the win.

As a team, the Bucs finished second behind host Kentucky, while besting Vanderbilt by one stroke. The Bucs, who are prepping for the NCAA East Regional later this month, got an impressive score of 2-under-par 70 from freshman Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) on Tuesday, as he finished tied for fifth in the tournament.

"I guess I finally got Rhys once," McNamara joked. "To win five times is just huge for Rhys. I think team wise this was a good warm up for us after getting through exams. I think it was a positive experience and will help us build confidence going into next week."

ETSU will now enjoy a seven-day break before traveling to the NCAA East Regional scheduled for May 19-21 at the Golf Club of Tennessee in Franklin, Tenn. Davies and the rest of the Bucs earned their spot in the regional by capturing the Southern Conference Championship in April.

UK Derby Invitational
University Club of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.) May 9-10, 2005; Par: 72, Yardage: 6992