Former Furman men's golf standout Matt Davidson was promoted to head coach of the program in June of 2018.
In his third season as head coach, the 2021 season was shortened, with Furman playing only in the spring. The Paladins won the Furman Intercollegiate team championship for the first time since 2004 and just the third time in Furman Intercollegiate history. Furman recorded four top-3 team finishes, and notched a 271 in the second round of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, tying the best round in Paladin men's golf history.
Senior Keller Harper concluded his career in 2021 as one of only two players in SoCon history to be named SoCon Player of the Year three times and became one of only two players in program history, along with Brad Faxon, to compete as an individual in multiple NCAA regionals. After tying for 14th at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, Harper was honored as a member of the PING East All-Region Team. He finished the 2020-21 season with a conference best 70.7 stroke average, which ranks second in Paladin history behind Faxon’s 70.58 in 1982-83. Mac Scott represented the Paladins on the SoCon All-Freshman Team after putting together a 72.8 stroke average in the spring of 2021.
During the shortened 2019-20 campaign, Davidson’s second season at the helm of the Paladin program, Furman notched top-3 finishes at both the Wolfpack Intercollegiate and the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate. The Paladins recorded a season-best round of 276 in the final round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, the second-best round in Furman men’s golf history, after tallying a 277 in the opening round just days before. Keller Harper, who led the Paladins with a 71.9 stroke average over 21 rounds, and rookie Reynolds Lambert, who was second on the team with a 72.7 stroke average over 15 rounds, each fired a 65 in the final round of the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, tying for fifth and helping the Paladins to a third-place finish.
In his first season as head coach, Furman won the team title at the Wofford Invitational, marking the Paladins’ first team championship since 2011, and finished as runner up at four additional tournaments. All-SoCon selection Harper was honored as the Southern Conference Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season after winning individual medalist honors at both the River Run Collegiate and the Furman Intercollegiate, and Jack Crosby, who was voted the SoCon Freshman of the Year, claimed individual medalist honors at the Wofford Invitational. The individual titles were the first for the Paladins since 2014. The Paladins returned to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2010, as Harper qualified as an individual for the NCAA Athens Regional, where he tied for 25th.
Davidson, a native of West Windsor, N.J., served as the Paladin assistant coach during the 2018 spring season before being appointed head coach. During the 2018 season, Harper was chosen the SoCon Men's Golf Player of the Year, becoming the first Paladin to win the award since Davidson captured the honor in 2002. Harper led the league with a 72.2 stroke average over 31 rounds and recorded three top-5 finishes, including a fourth-place finish at the league championships. Also in 2018, Connor Bruns earned his second-conseutive All-SoCon nod, and Scott Purvis qualified for the U.S. Amateur.
Prior to his time coaching at Furman, he spent 13 years playing professionally, splitting time between the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. He played in 147 events on the Korn Ferry Tour and made 90 cuts, notched 16 top-10 finishes, and finished among the top three on four occasions during his professional career. His best Korn Ferry Tour finish came in 2015, when he tied for second at the HSBC Brazil Championship. The 2008 and 2009 EGolf Tour championship winner, he posted a career-best 14th-place finish at the 2005 Greater Milwaukee Open on the PGA Tour.
The 2002 Southern Conference Player of the Year, Davidson was a member of the Paladin golf team from 2000-2004. He won individual medalist honors at the 2004 SoCon Championships and was chosen the 2004 Furman Male Athlete of the Year following a stellar senior campaign that saw him post a 72.24 stroke average over 38 rounds, the fourth-best season stroke average in program history. A member of the Furman Athletics' 2018 Hall of Fame class, Davidson ranks third behind only Brad Faxon and Daniel Bowden on Furman's career stroke average list, recording a 73.46 over 138 rounds. A two-time All-SoCon first team selection, he was twice honored as a member of the Golf Coaches Association of America All-American Scholar team. Davidson, who has lived in the Greenville area for the past nine years, earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Furman in 2004. His wife, Natalie The of Lake Worth, Fla., graduated from Furman in 2003 and was a member of the Paladin women's tennis team. She is a professor in the Furman health sciences department. The couple has two sons, Wesley (5) and Graham (3).
JAMES BARTLETT Assistant Coach
James Bartlett is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Furman men's golf program in 2021-22.
In his first season on the Paladin staff, the 2021 season was shortened, with Furman playing only in the spring. The Paladins won the Furman Intercollegiate team championship for the first time since 2004 and just the third time in Furman Intercollegiate history. Furman recorded four top-3 team finishes, and notched a 271 in the second round of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, tying the best round in Paladin men's golf history.
Senior Keller Harper concluded his career in 2021 as one of only two players in SoCon history to be named SoCon Player of the Year three times and became one of only two players in program history, along with Brad Faxon, to compete as an individual in multiple NCAA regionals. After tying for 14th at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, Harper was honored as a member of the PING East All-Region Team. He finished the 2020-21 season with a conference best 70.7 stroke average, which ranks second in Paladin history behind Faxon’s 70.58 in 1982-83. Mac Scott represented the Paladins on the SoCon All-Freshman Team after putting together a 72.8 stroke average in the spring of 2021.
Prior to his time at Furman, Bartlett served as the assistant men's and women's golf coach at Lander. During the 2019-20 campaign, both the men's and women's teams earned tournament victories, with the women tallying three top-five finishes and the men notching two. In Bartlett's first season as assistant coach, the women's team secured three top-five finishes and the men placed among the top five on four occasions. On the men's side, Jon Parker qualified as an individual for the 2019 NCAA South/Southeast Regional. Bartlett also has prior experience as an assistant golf professional at Greenwood Country Club. A four-year letter winner on the Lander men's golf team from 2014-18, Bartlett won individual medalist honors at the 2015 Pfeiffer Invitational with rounds of 68 and 73 and led the Bearcats to three team victories. He helped Lander to a national ranking of sixth in 2016-17, the highest in program history. Bartlett, a native of Brockenhurst, England, earned a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology from Lander in 2018.