BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Coming off an uncharacteristically slow start to the Western Kentucky University Kenny Perry Invitational on Monday at The Club at Olde Stone, the FGCU men's golf team posted the 4th-best score of the day with a final-round 295 on Tuesday to finish in 11th place.
 
The 295 total was an improvement of 18 shots from the team's opening round and 12 shots better than its second round. Grant Renegar led the way for the Eagles in the final round with a 2-under 70, while Robert Renner Jr. was close behind with a 1-under 71 as the 4th and 5th players, respectively, in head coach Eric Booker's lineup.
 
Eastern Kentucky won the tournament with a three-round 860 total, nine shots clear of Jacksonville State and 11 better than host WKU. With its strong closing round, FGCU was able to finish just 10 shots out of the 7th position; the Eagles were 15 shots out of 10th place entering the day.
 
"We certainly played better today which was encouraging to see. One of the biggest differences was staying away from big numbers," commented Booker in reference to his team making 16 double bogeys or worse during the first two rounds but just four in the final round. "Today was much more consistent with how we've been performing this year, and hopefully we can continue that and go even lower to wrap up our fall season at home in a couple weeks."
 
The 2-under performance for Renegar (McComb, Miss./Meridian CC/Parklane Academy) is his second sub-par round in his last four outings following a 6-under 66 at the FAU Dual last weekend. The junior transfer started his final round on the back 9 and blitzed the 7,219-yard layout to go out in 4-under 32. A pair of bogeys on the front slowed his momentum, but he still finished tied for 30th overall with a 226 three-round total – an improvement of 25 positions from Monday, which was the highest increase in the 69-player field.
 
The person with the 3rd-largest jump up the leaderboard on Tuesday was Renner Jr. (Arlington Heights, Ill./Saint Viator HS) as he moved up 16 spots to finish with a team-best tie for 27th overall thanks to a 225 total. Like Renegar, Renner Jr. started on the back 9 and torched the early holes as he was -4 through six holes before settling for an outward 33. Despite three bogeys and a birdie on the front, the redshirt sophomore's 71 was by far his lowest round in tournament (non-dual) action and bettered only by a 70 at the FAU Dual.
 
Rounding out the FGCU scoring for the day was Keaton Jones with a 76 and Casper Howells and James Leadbetter both with 78s.
 
Leadbetter (Bradenton, Fla./Arkansas/IMG Academy) tied for 49th overall following rounds of 80-74-78 (232). Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) entered the tournament as FGCU's stroke-average leader at 70, but struggled to get going this week as he finished tied for 54th with a 234 total. Howells (London, England/Bradford College) tied for 59th with a 237 total.
 
Leadbetter led the field in par-3 scoring as he played the holes collectively at 4-under par during the three rounds. Despite the low finish for Howells, he recorded FGCU's only eagle of the tournament. The spike up the leaderboard for the Eagles was made even more impressive considering the final round presented the most challenging course conditions as the average round was 76.04 – the highest of the week.
 
The fall portion of the 2016-17 season for FGCU will conclude on the Eagles' home course, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero on Oct. 24-25. The Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic will be contested at Old Corkscrew for the third year in a row, and will represent the Green and Blue's lone home tournament of the campaign.
 
Last year, the Eagles finished 3rd out of 12 schools on one of Southwest Florida's premier tracks. The field will play 36 holes on Monday, Oct. 24, with the final 18 holes to be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Admission is free, and the public is welcome to attend.
 
FGCU INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T27) Robert Renner Jr.: 76-78-71: 225
T30) Grant Renegar: 79-77-70: 226
T49) James Leadbetter: 80-74-78: 232
T54) Keaton Jones: 80-78-76: 234
T59) Casper Howells: 78-81-78: 237
 
WKU KENNY PERRY INVITATIONAL (Golfweek Ranking)
1) 39 Eastern Kentucky: 284-287-289: 860
2) 117 Jacksonville State: 296-286-287: 869
3) 118 Western Kentucky: 284-292-295: 871
4) 33 Kentucky: 298-295-285: 878
5) 133 Cleveland State: 296-291-300: 887
6) 138 Mercer: 293-293-305: 892
7) 185 Samford: 307-295-303: 905
8) 83 Southern Mississippi: 306-296-307: 909
9) 173 Fort Wayne: 302-302-307: 911
10) 195 Belmont: 304-301-309: 914
11) 187 FGCU: 313-307-295: 915
12) 254 Tennessee Tech: 304-311-304: 919
 
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 and @FGCU_MGolf on Instagram.
 
COACH BOOKER
FGCU is led by 3rd-year 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.