NAPLES, Fla. – Behind a bogey-free day which has junior Jake Sherwin tied for first overall following rounds of 67 (-4) and 68 (-3), the FGCU men's golf team sits in a tie for 7th place at the competitive Talis Park Challenge following 36 holes on Sunday at the Talis Park Golf Club.
 
The Eagles posted a 291 team total in the first 18 of the day before recording a 288 in the second round of their spring-opening tournament. The 579 total is tied with Eastern Michigan and just one shot behind 6th-place Michigan State. No. 5 Vanderbilt leads the 15-team field by just two shots over No. 6 LSU as the Commodores posted a 560 total while the Tigers had a 562.
 
Sherwin (Fort Myers, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS) matched his career-low round with the 67 on the opening 18 holes of the day as he recorded birdies on holes 15, 2, 4 and 8 after commencing his round on the par-5 15th. On his second 18 of the day, Sherwin – who finished tied for third overall at the same event last year – rolled in birdies on his opening two holes, 15 and 16, before making another on the front on the par-5 8th.
 
At -7 for the tournament, Sherwin is tied with Texas A&M's Adria Arnaus and Toledo's Otto Black for medalist honors heading into Monday's final round – two shots clear of the trio's next-closest competitor. Sherwin matched his career best which he established in the second round of FGCU's season-opening tournament at the Saint Mary's Invitational in September.
 
"Jake is continuing to gain more confidence as a player, and playing within himself by making smart decisions on the course while managing his strengths," commented FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "Talis Park is a demanding golf course which requires patience and an acceptance of misfortunes. You can play a hole well and walk of it with a double bogey. The team did well at maneuvering through the obstacles for the most part, realizing a bogey is sometimes not that bad of a score. We were close to shooting quite a bit better than we ended up." 
 
After carding a 76 (+5) on his first 18 of the day, Jordan Miller (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian HS) bounced back with a 73 (+2) on his second round to finish with a two-round 149 total (+7) which is tied for 51st overall. One of those competitors that he's knotted with is teammate Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla./Florida Southern College/Lee Virtual Instructional Program) as the junior did the exact opposite as Miller with an opening-round 73 followed by a second-round 76.
 
Sophomore Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) responded from a tough first round in which he signed for an 80 with an even-par 71 on his second 18 of the day – the best round for anyone aside from Sherwin in FGCU's lineup. Senior Blake Biggs (Peoria, Ill./Eastern Florida State College/Peoria Notre Dame HS) rounded out the Eagles' lineup with rounds of 75 and 85.
 
"Blake grinded out a 75 during the first round which could have been much higher, and with that said Jordan and Austin were solid tee to green, but had many missed putt opportunities all day," Booker added. "Keaton made a nice comeback from shooting 80 the first round to 71 in his second by not giving up."
 
Designed by Greg Norman and Pete Dye, Talis Park has been consistently ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top 20 courses in Florida. For the tournament, the course was shortened to 6,891 yards, while the layout is designed to resemble that of the terrain of an Italian farmland.

FGCU is competing for the first time in nearly five months as the 15-team tournament hosted by Ball State University features four teams ranked in the top 100 of the Golfweek Rankings. The invitational concludes Monday with 18 holes beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Live scoring will be available at birdiefire.com, and updates will also be posted on Twitter @FGCU_MGolf throughout the tournament.
 
"We have an opportunity tomorrow to improve our position and make a jump forward," Booker concluded. "The key is to eliminate our fears of outcome and getting into the targets for each and every shot."
 
FGCU Individual Scores
T-1) Jake Sherwin (67-68: 135 / -7)
T-51) Jordan Miller (76-73: 149 / +7)
T-51) Austin Schultz (73-76: 149 / +7)
T-58) Keaton Jones (80-71: 151 / +9)
76) Blake Biggs (75-85: 160 / +18)
 
Tournament Field (Golfweek Rankings)
1) #5 Vanderbilt (276-284: 560)
2) #6 LSU (286-276: 562)
3) #118 Wichita State (276-290: 566)
4) #46 Texas A&M (284-283: 567)
5) #185 Northern Illinois (282-290: 572)
6) #77 Michigan State (285-293: 578)
T-7) #166 FGCU (291-288: 579)
T-7) #114 Eastern Michigan (289-290: 579)
9) #131 Toledo (295-285: 580)
10) #161 Xavier (292-289: 581)
T-11) #120 Miami (Ohio) (290-292: 582)
T-11) #138 Notre Dame (290-292: 582)
13) #167 Ball State (289-298: 587)
14) #178 Akron (294-301: 595)
15) #128 Indiana (301-304: 605)
 
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 visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.