NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sophomore Casper Howells shot his second-consecutive round of 69 Tuesday to finish in 3rd place overall, but it wasn't enough to lift the FGCU men's golf team as the Eagles finished in 8th place at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic.
 
The Eagles shot a final-round 301 as a team, two strokes better than the 303 they shot at Warren Golf Course during Sunday's opening round. Monday's second round was played at Lost Dunes Golf Club in Bridgman, Mich., and FGCU shot a 289 in that round as the Green and Blue concluded the three-round tournament with an 893 total, six strokes behind 7th-place and host Notre Dame.
 
Michigan State won the eight-team invite with an 863 total, running away from the pack as the next-closest competitor was Ball State with an 877 total.
 
Howells (London, England/Bradfield College) was in a tie for 24th overall following his first-round 75 (+4), but moved into a tie for 9th following the second-round 69 (-2). He then completed the gradual climb up the leaderboard thanks in part to a final round in which he bogeyed two of the first three holes but played flawless golf the rest of the way.
 
After starting with a birdie on his opening 10th hole, Howells bogeyed 11 and 12 before rolling in birdies on the short par-4 16th and par-5 17th. He made the turn to the front at 1-under par and immediately got his card to 2-under with a birdie on the par-4 1st. From there, Howells made eight straight pars to wrap up his round and finish the tournament at even par (213).
 
Howells is the first FGCU player not competing as an individual to record two straight rounds in the 60s since Jack Hernandez did it exactly two years to the day. The then-sophomore carded rounds of 68-69 on Sept. 30, 2012, at the Cobra-PUMA Invitational. Additionally, Howells' solo 3rd place finish is the best for an FGCU golfer not competing as an individual since Edward Figueroa was the medalist at the same Cobra-PUMA Invitational.
 
Blake Biggs (Peoria, Ill./Eastern Florida State College/Peoria Notre Dame HS) tied for 21st overall as the senior shot a final-round 77 to wrap up the tournament with a 223 total following two-straight 73s to open the invite. Biggs was even on his round – which, like all his teammates, started on the 10th – heading into the 15th, and he was only +1 heading to 18, but struggled on the front.
 
Jordan Miller (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School) capped his tournament tied for 33rd overall after a final-round 78 which was aided negatively by two double bogeys.
 
Playing in his first tournament for FGCU since transferring from Florida Southern College, Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla./Lee Virtual Instructional Program) finished tied for 41st with teammate Jake Sherwin (Fort Myers, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS). Sherwin shot a final-round 77, while Schultz carded a 79 as each player recorded a 232 total over the three rounds.
 
The relatively new Warren Golf Course is a par-71 layout which spans 7,023 yards and opened in 2000 on 250 wooded acres on the northeast edge of the Notre Dame campus. There are 88 reshaped and enhanced bunkers scattered along the course, and water comes into play on six of the holes.
 
Lost Dunes Golf Club is also a par-71 layout and plays just slightly shorter at 6,905 yards from the championship tees. The private course opened in 1999 and has won several awards, most notably in 2007-08 when it was named the 63rd Greatest Golf Course in America by Golf Digest.
 
FGCU will have a two-week break from competitive action before returning to the Midwest to compete in the Sagamore Fall Preview hosted by Ball State in Noblesville, Ind., Oct. 13-14.
 
FGCU COMPETITORS
3) Casper Howells (75-69-69/213)
T21) Blake Biggs (73-73-77/223)
T33) Jordan Miller (77-72-78/227)
T41) Austin Schultz (78-75-79/232)
T41) Jake Sherwin (79-76-77/232)
 
COMPLETE FIELD (Standings Based Off Final 2013-14 Golfstat Rankings)
1) #130 Michigan State (288-284-291/863)
2) #136 Ball State (293-293-291/877)
3) #120 Long Beach State (286-293-299/878)
4) #148 Loyola (Md.) (289-299-292/880)
5) #104 Davidson (300-285-297/882)
6) #95 Lamar (294-295-295/884)
7) #101 Notre Dame (285-302-300/887)
8) #119 FGCU (303-289-301/893)
 
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