NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – The FGCU men's golf team completed its first day of action with 36 holes at the Ball State University Sagamore Fall Preview at Sagamore Golf Club on Monday in 14th place.
 
The Eagles posted a 307 team score through the first 18 holes of the day and then recorded a 313 on the second 18 to finish with a two-round 620 total, five shots behind 13th-place Toledo. Illinois leads the 14-team invite with a 570 total – eight shots clear of second-place Auburn (578) as the Tigers are 12 shots ahead of third-place Northern Illinois (590).
 
Senior Blake Biggs (Peoria, Ill./Eastern Florida State College/Peoria Notre Dame HS) led the Green and Blue with an opening-round 75 and second-round 77 to finish in a tie for 38th overall with a two-round 152 total (+8).
 
"Today was a roller-coaster day. The guys started out strong as a team but just couldn't stay away from the big-number holes that ruin your scores," said coach Eric Booker, who coached the Eagles for the first time in tournament action after being hired Friday. "It was a tough day, but I expect much improvement tomorrow after our post-round discussions."
 
The hot start Booker referenced came in large part to freshman Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS), who was playing in his first collegiate tournament. Quintessenza began his first round on hole 18 with a par 5 before making the turn and recording a birdie on holes 2, 4, 5 and 7 to move his scorecard to -4 after 9 holes. However, he struggled coming in and finished with a first-round 76 (+4) and second-round 82 for a two-round 158.
 
The other fast start came in the second round as sophomore Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) commenced his round on 18 and promptly birdied four of the first five holes to quickly push his card to -4 heading to hole 5. However, like Quintessenza, Jones struggled coming in and finished with a second-round 77 (+5) after a first-round 81 for a two-round 158.
 
Biggs stayed away from the big numbers Booker alluded to as he only made one double bogey over his 36 holes. But as a team FGCU had 17 double bogeys or worse. The big numbers especially hurt Quintessenza who rolled in seven birdies over his two rounds – just two off the tournament lead of nine.
 
Junior transfer Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla./Florida Southern College/Lee Virtual Instructional Program) shot rounds of 78-79 for a two-round 157 total, while sophomore Casper Howells (London, England/Bradfield College) was the third Green and Blue member to record a 158 following rounds of 78 and 80.
 
In round one, only the relatively short par-4 10th, par-5 14th and par-5 2nd played under par, while in round two hole 7 – in addition to the 14th and 2nd – played under par. The 538-yard 2nd played to a stroke average of -0.49 in the first round and -0.38 in the second round. By comparison, the par-3 11th at 171 yards played the most difficult in round one (+0.64), while the 422-yard par-4 9th was the most challenging in the second round (+0.72).
 
The field includes four of the top-50 teams in the final Golfstat Rankings from last year in No. 19 UAB, No. 22 Auburn, No. 45 Purdue and No. 50 Louisville. Sagamore Country Club opened for play in 2003, and the course is cut into the wooded terrain of the Indianapolis suburb. Designed by 18-time major championship winner, Jack Nicklaus, the course is a distinguished design as Nicklaus used layouts from previous courses such as Valhalla (2014 PGA Championship) and Medinah (2012 Ryder Cup) in its makeup.
 
FGCU will be back in action for the final round of the 54-hole tournament Tuesday. The Eagles will be paired with Toledo and five individuals with tee times off hole 10 every eight minutes beginning with Quintessenza at 9 a.m. Live scoring will be available throughout the round on Golfstat.com or by clicking the link at the top of this release.
 
FGCU LINEUP
T38) Blake Biggs: 75-77/152
T57) Austin Schultz: 78-79/157
T61) Casper Howells: 78-80/158
T61) Keaton Jones: 81-77/158
T61) Anthony Quintessenza: 76-82/158
 
COMPLETE FIELD (Golfstat rankings from end of 2013-14; first 2014-15 rankings released Oct. 15)
1) #133 Illinois: 284-286/570
2) #22 Auburn: 280-298/578
3) #247 Northern Illinois: 289-301/590
4) #19 UAB: 299-292/591
T5) #50 Louisville: 300-292/592
T5) #122 Kansas: 295-297/592
7) #88 Indiana: 299-297/596
8) #45 Purdue: 298-300/598
9) #137 Eastern Michigan: 302-302/604
10) #199 Xavier: 311-296/607
11) #136 Ball State: 310-302/612
12) #138 Akron: 308-306/614
13) #172 Toledo: 305-310/615
14) #119 FGCU: 307-313/620
 
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.

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.