ESTERO, Fla. – The FGCU men's golf team will welcome some of the nation's premier teams to one of Florida's most prestigious courses when the Eagles host the inaugural Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic at Old Corkscrew Golf Club Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 27-28.
 
The 14-team field includes four of the top-100 teams in the nation, including the No. 1 team in the country, Florida State, and fellow in-state foe No. 53 Florida. Tournament action tees off Monday with a shotgun start of 8:45 a.m. as 36 holes are scheduled to be played. The invite will conclude on Tuesday with 18 holes beginning with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
 
Scoring will be available following the conclusion of each round at Golfstat.com, while updates and behind-the-scenes coverage will be available on Twitter by following @FGCU_MGolf. FGCU will be paired with Florida State and Florida in the opening two rounds on Monday, and will go off from holes 1-4, with two groups starting on hole 1.
 
In addition to FSU, UF and FGCU – which finished ahead of the then-No. 18 team in the nation, East Carolina, in its last tournament – the other 11 competing teams are: Loyola (Md.), Miami (Ohio), Saint Mary's, Ball State, St. John's, Arkansas State, Murray State, Bethune-Cookman, Ohio, Stetson and FAU.
 
FGCU coach Eric Booker will utilize the following 5-member lineup, and in addition the Eagles will also have three players competing as individuals (not factoring into the team score).
 
TEAM LINEUP
1) Jake Sherwin (Fort Myers, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS)
2) Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla./Florida Southern College/Lee Virtual Instructional Program)
3) Jordan Miller (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School)
4) Blake Biggs (Peoria, Ill./Eastern Florida State College/Peoria Notre Dame HS)
5) Casper Howells (London, England/Bradfield College)
 
FGCU INDIVIDUALS
Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS)
Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS)
Conrad Hahne (Ramsey, Minn./South Fort Myers HS)
 
"We're looking forward to hosting the tournament at Old Corkscrew. By playing alongside some stiff competition, the team which can best manage its game and stay away from big numbers will most likely find itself in pretty good position at the end of the event," said Booker. "Old Corkscrew is a demanding course which will require patience and good course management."
 
This will be the first time FGCU has hosted the invite on their home course. For the past three years the Eagles have co-hosted the Cobra-PUMA Invitational at Miromar Lakes Golf Club with Xavier University and won that tournament each year.
 
The Green and Blue collectively shot 40-under par over those nine rounds, beginning with an 11-under performance (853) in 2011-12, a program-record -27 (837) in 2012-13 and -9 (855) last year. In 2011-12, FGCU's Brandon Pena was the co-medalist by shooting 10-under (206), while in 2012-13 Edward Figueroa fired a program-best -16 (200) to run away with medalist honors.
 
Old Corkscrew Golf Club is Southwest Florida's only stand-alone Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, and while the par-72 course can stretch out to nearly 7,400 yards it will play approximately 6,900 yards for the tournament. Old Corkscrew opened for play in February of 2007 and has quickly been recognized as one of the nation's finest golf courses and included on a number of prestigious lists.
 
Since Old Corkscrew is not part of any real estate development, the course is a "core" or "stand-alone" extraordinary golf experience just minutes from Naples and Fort Myers Beach. The course design has been developed to mesh precisely with the outstanding natural assets – mature oak, pine and cypress trees and a natural flow way through the center of the property adding up to one spectacular golf course. The 275-acre site is located approximately seven miles east of I–75 on the south side of Corkscrew Road (17320 Corkscrew Road).
 
FGCU will be looking to ride the momentum of a season-best finish last week at the Pinetree Intercollegiate at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga. The Eagles wrapped up the tournament in fourth place with a three-round total of 891, seven shots better than the nation's 18th-ranked team, East Carolina (898). Fellow Atlantic Sun Conference member Kennesaw State won the title going away as the Owls (845) finished with a 30-shot victory over Liberty (875). The third A-Sun member in the field, Lipscomb, made a charge up the leaderboard to finish in third place with an 881 total, giving the A-Sun three of the top-4 finishes in the 11-team field.
 
Individually, Sherwin improved his score each round (78-73-70) to finish in 14th place overall and as FGCU's low man with a 221 (+5) total. Schultz and Miller were right behind Sherwin as each shot a 224 (+8) total over the three rounds and concluded in a tie for 19th overall.
 
FGCU, which has only had a coach for two weeks and half of its fall tournaments, moved up the national rankings 25 spots by virtue of its finish at Pinetree, going from 207 to 182. Sherwin paces the Eagles with a stroke average of 74.33 through nine rounds this year, while Miller is just behind at 74.89 through nine rounds as well.
 
The Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic at Old Corkscrew Golf Club will conclude the fall tournament season for the Eagles. The Green and Blue – who will have played five fall tournaments – won't return to competitive action until Mar. 15-16 at the Ball State-hosted Talis Park Challenge in Naples. FGCU has four spring tournaments scheduled, in addition to the A-Sun Championship in mid-April.
 
COMPLETE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings)
#1 Florida State
#53 Florida
#91 Loyola (Md.)
#99 Miami (Ohio)
#108 Saint Mary's
#134 Ball State
#169 St. John's
#173 Arkansas State
#182 FGCU
#205 Murray State
#231 Bethune-Cookman
#236 Ohio
#242 Stetson
#N/A FAU (not enough rounds to qualify for a ranking)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For schedule updates, news and information, visit FGCUAthletics.com. For the latest news and behind-the-scenes access to information, photos and videos, follow @FGCU_MGolf on Twitter.
 
COACH BOOKER
FGCU is led by coach Eric Booker, a member of the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide Series) for portions of 17 years from 1990-2007. Booker finished in the top-5 three times in tournaments on the PGA Tour and also played in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He played in 62 career events on the PGA Tour, with his best finish being a tie for 3rd at the 1999 Honda Classic.
 
HELP THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.