LUBBOCK, Texas – Battling strong winds in the final round of the Lubbock Regional, FGCU's Jake Sherwin concluded his first-ever NCAA Men's Golf Championship Saturday with a final-round 78 at The Rawls Course.
 
Sherwin (Fort Myers, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS) finished his three rounds with a 224 total (+11) as he recorded scores of 71 and 75 on Thursday and Friday at the Texas Tech-hosted regional. Louisville's Robin Sciot-Siegrist (par) defeated K.K. Limbhasut of California (bogey) on the first playoff hole (18) to advance to the NCAA Championship final as an individual.
 
Both players entered the playoff at -5 as neither of their teams finished in the top five to advance to the team championship final June 1-3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. There were six different regional sites as part of the initial weekend of the championship – three with 10 individuals and 13 teams, and three with five individuals and 14 teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional advanced to the finals.
 
"It was a rough day today with winds gusting to as much as 40 mph, and Jake had several missed opportunities on the greens as I think he had eight lip outs on putts inside 10 feet," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "It was just one of those days where he never got any momentum. Overall, though, it was a good experience for him and something he can build upon heading into summer events and into our 2015-16 season."
 
As he did in Friday's second round, Sherwin, who was one of just 45 at-large individual selections in the field, was unable to record a birdie until his final hole of the day – the 539-yard par-5 9th. The junior – FGCU's third such NCAA qualifier in only four years of Division-I postseason eligibility – made the turn in 40 before improving on the front with a 38.
 
The long, challenging Rawls Course played to 7,349 yards, and for the second-straight day on Saturday scoring increased from an average of 71.19 in the first round to 72.56 in the second round to 72.71 in the final round on the par-71 layout.
 
Fellow Atlantic Sun Conference member North Florida – which is ranked 23rd in the nation by Golfstat – earned the A-Sun's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship by winning the A-Sun Tournament but finished the Lubbock Regional in 11th place.
 
In addition to UNF, the A-Sun had another team in the regional round as Kennesaw State – ranked 24th by Golfstat – received an at-large berth and nearly took advantage of it as the Owls finished in sixth place at the Chapel Hill Regional at +2 – just seven shots behind fifth-place Clemson. Furthermore, there were two other A-Sun individuals represented in Chapel Hill, led by Dawson Armstrong from Lipscomb. The freshman made an incredible climb up the leaderboard on the final day, overcoming an eight-shot deficit entering the closing round with a 65 before losing on the second playoff hole.
 
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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.