ESTERO, Fla. – Following rounds of 295 and 297 on Monday, the FGCU men's golf team finds itself in 2nd place among a field of 16 at the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic heading in to Tuesday's final round at Old Corkscrew Golf Club.
 
Senior Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) is in sole possession of 2nd place overall after carding rounds of 1-under 71 and 1-over 73 for an even-par 144 total. Closely behind him is local product Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) who is tied for 4th on the strength of an opening-round 74 and an even-par 72 in the second round.
 
Eastern Kentucky, ranked among the top-50 teams in the nation, leads the third-annual event at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course after shooting rounds of 295 and 285 for a 580 total, 12 shots clear of the Eagles (592). FGCU was tied for 1st place with EKU after the first round, but the Colonels put together the best round of the day with their 3-under second 18.
 
"The team had a very respectable day, led by Keaton who continued his strong play into the final event of the fall," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "We're still making some management mistakes, but our guys are aware of those and are hoping to resolve them in tomorrow's final round. They need to play better percentage golf. It's nice to be in this 2nd-place position, and we're looking forward to the challenge tomorrow."
 
Final-round action will commence at 8 a.m. Tuesday (not 8:30 a.m. as originally scheduled) with tee times off holes 1 and 10. The Eagles have four individuals beginning on hole 10 at 8:10 and 8:20 a.m. FGCU's five-man lineup will be in the final pairings as the Green and Blue will begin their round off hole 1 in 10-minute increments starting at 8:50 and concluding at 9:30.
 
In addition to Jones and Potter leading the FGCU lineup, Grant Renegar (McComb, Miss./Meridian CC/Parklane Academy) stepped up with a pair of 75s and is tied for 15th overall with a 150 total. Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Timber Creek HS) and Casper Howells (London, England/Bradford College) concluded the Green and Blue's scoring from the lineup with matching 157 totals as Keymont went 75-82 and Howells went 80-77.
 
Playing as an individual, James Leadbetter (Bradenton, Fla./Arkansas/IMG Academy) is tied for 7th – the best among the 11 individuals – after signing for rounds of 76 and 72 for a 148 total, with the even-par second round matching his best of the season. Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS) is tied with Renegar in 15th place and got there exactly the same way with two rounds of 75. Just one shot behind them is Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) with rounds of 77-74 (151) to tie for 21st, and only one stroke behind him in a tie for 26th is Robert Renner Jr. (Arlington Heights, Ill./Saint Viator HS) following rounds of 77-75 (152).
 
FGCU leads 3rd-place UCF, ranked 44th in the country in the most recent Golfstat Rankings, by six strokes as the Knights posted a 598 (+22) two-round total. After shooting a sub-300 round just once in its first four tries since the tournament moved to Old Corkscrew in 2014, the Eagles have now posted four-straight sub-300 rounds on the tight, challenging layout.
 
To help lower scoring this year (just one of 26 teams in two years of the event has finished below par) the course was shortened to just over 6,700 yards this year, but no holes played under par on Monday. The average round was a 78.54, but all of FGCU's counting scores and all eight rounds from the individuals were below that average.
 
Jones, Leadbetter, Renner Jr. and Renegar all made seven birdies over the two rounds, just one off the tournament lead through the opening day. Quintessenza played the par-4 holes at even par – just one shot behind the tournament pace – while Leadbetter finished at 2-under par on the par 3s to tie for the best in the tournament. Both Leadbetter and Smith recorded eagles, with Leadbetter making his on the 343-yard 4th and Smith on the 515-yard 11th.
 
Live scoring for Tuesday's final round will be available via Golfstat. Updates and behind-the-scenes coverage will be available on Twitter by following @FGCU_MGolf. Old Corkscrew is located approximately seven miles east of I–75 on the south side of Corkscrew Road (17320 Corkscrew Road). Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend as the Eagles look to end their fall season on a high note.
 
FGCU Lineup
2) Keaton Jones: 71-73: 144 (E)
T4) Andrew Potter: 74-72: 146 (+2)
T15) Grant Renegar: 75-75: 150 (+6)
T46) Michael Keymont: 75-82: 157 (+13)
T46) Casper Howells: 80-77: 157 (+13)
 
FGCU Individuals
T7) James Leadbetter: 76-72: 148 (+4)
T15) Anthony Quintessenza: 75-75: 150 (+6)
T21) Doug Smith: 77-74: 151 (+7)
T26) Robert Renner Jr.: 77-75: 152 (+8)
 
Competing Teams (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 42 Eastern Kentucky: 295-285: 580 (+4)
2) 210 FGCU: 295-297: 592 (+16)
3) 44 UCF: 300-298: 598 (+22)
4) 231 Bethune-Cookman: 304-296: 600 (+24)
5) 158 Stetson: 301-302: 603 (+27)
6) 149 Ohio: 316-292: 608 (+32)
7) 236 St. Bonaventure: 302-309: 611 (+35)
8) 162 South Dakota State: 305-314: 619 (+43)
9) 181 Georgetown: 313-307: 620 (+44)
10) 254 FAU: 317-306: 623 (+47)
11) 226 Creighton: 318-318: 636 (+60)
12) 259 Central Connecticut State: 318-319: 637 (+61)
13) 80 Ave Maria (NAIA): 326-312: 638 (+62)
14) 281 Savannah State: 328-314: 642 (+66)
15) 267 Brown: 326-317: 643 (+67)
16) 289 Florida A&M: 321-332: 653 (+77)
 
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.