ESTERO, Fla. – Entering the final round of the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic on Tuesday, the FGCU men's golf team trailed top-50 national ranked Eastern Kentucky by 12 shots, but finished just four shots behind the Colonels for 2nd place after a round of 300 and 892 total at Old Corkscrew Golf Club.
 
On a windy day at the already-challenging Jack Nicklaus design, no team shot better than 7-over par as the Eagles at one point took the lead on the back 9, but couldn't withstand a late charge by EKU, which finished with an 888 total after a final-round 308. The Colonels, ranked 42nd by Golfstat, have now won four of their five fall tournaments and finished 2nd in the other.
 
Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) led FGCU with a career-best tie for 4th as the sophomore shot a 3-over 75 on Tuesday to maintain his overnight position and record a 221 (+5) total. The most impressive move up the leaderboard came from Casper Howells (London, England/Bradford College) as the senior improved 27 spots – second-best in the field – with one of just five under-par rounds among the 91 competitors on Tuesday with a 71. Howells finished tied for 19th overall with a 228 total.
 
"This finish is positive and something the guys can really build off," commented FGCU head coach Eric Booker, whose team posted the best finish in his 2+ years in charge of the Eagles. "We have a lot of talented players that for the most part didn't have a great fall, but this was a strong finish against some quality teams in our final event before the spring."
 
The Eagles finished four shots ahead of in-state foe UCF (896), ranked 44th in the country by Golfstat. FGCU also was 23 shots clear of fellow ASUN Conference member Stetson (915) as the Green and Blue finished ahead of all but one (EKU) of the six teams ranked ahead of it by Golfstat entering the tournament.
 
Senior Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) posted his third top-15 finish of the fall with a tie for 11th after a final-round 80 and three-round 224 (+8). Also finishing tied for 11th was Grant Renegar (McComb, Miss./Meridian CC/Parklane Academy), who arguably was the most consistent player in the field as he followed up a pair of 75s on Monday with a 74 on Tuesday. Rounding out the FGCU lineup scoring was Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Timber Creek HS) with a final-round 83 for a 240 total.
 
Playing as individuals, James Leadbetter (Bradenton, Fla./Arkansas/IMG Academy) and Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS) both signed for 224 totals to match Jones and Renegar in a tie for 11th place. Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) shot a 230 total to tie for 27th, and Robert Renner Jr. (Arlington Heights, Ill./Saint Viator HS) carded a 234 total to finish tie for 39th.
 
Leadbetter tied for the tournament lead by playing the par 3s at 2-under par, with Renegar, Jones and Howells all finishing just one shot off that pace. Renegar and Jones each rolled in 10 birdies over the three rounds, just one off the tournament-leading pace.
 
In an attempt to help lower scoring this year (just one of now 42 teams in three years of the event at Old Corkscrew has finished below par) the course was shortened to just over 6,700 yards, but no holes played under par all week. The average score on Tuesday was the highest of the three rounds at 79.39, with conditions so tough that the medalist honors were shared by EKU's Will Sallee and UCF's Manuel Elvira at +3. Sallee entered the final round at -6, but carded an 81 after rounds of 70 and 68 on Monday.
 
FGCU now commences a four-month break from competitive action before beginning its championship spring season in late February at Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate.
 
FGCU Lineup
T4) Andrew Potter: 74-72-75: 221 (+5)
T11) Keaton Jones: 71-73-80: 224 (+8)
T11) Grant Renegar: 75-75-74: 224 (+8)
T19) Casper Howells: 80-77-71: 228 (+12)
T59) Michael Keymont: 75-82-83: 240 (+24)
 
FGCU Individuals
T11) James Leadbetter: 76-72-76: 224 (+8)
T11) Anthony Quintessenza: 75-75-74: 224 (+8)
T27) Doug Smith: 77-74-79: 230 (+14)
T39) Robert Renner Jr.: 77-75-82: 234 (+18)
 
Competing Teams (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 42 Eastern Kentucky: 295-285-308: 888 (+24)
2) 210 FGCU: 295-297-300: 892 (+28)
3) 44 UCF: 300-298-298: 896 (+32)
4) 231 Bethune-Cookman: 304-296-297: 897 (+33)
5) 158 Stetson: 301-302-312: 915 (+51)
T6) 254 FAU: 317-306-295: 918 (+54)
T6) 149 Ohio: 316-292-310: 918 (+54)
8) 181 Georgetown: 313-307-310: 930 (+66)
9) 236 St. Bonaventure: 302-309-321: 932 (+68)
10) 162 South Dakota State: 305-314-316: 935 (+71)
11) 226 Creighton: 318-318-310: 946 (+82)
12) 259 Central Connecticut State: 318-319-311: 948 (+84)
13) 80 Ave Maria (NAIA): 326-312-312: 950 (+86)
14) 267 Brown: 326-317-317: 960 (+96)
15) 281 Savannah State: 328-314-330: 972 (+108)
16) 289 Florida A&M: 321-332-346: 999 (+135)
 
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 (2nd full season), 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.