RICHMOND, Ky. – The FGCU men's golf team concluded its season-opening tournament of the 2016-17 campaign Sunday at the EKU Intercollegiate in 12th place at the University Club at Arlington.
 
Senior Keaton Jones again led the Eagles with a team-best final-round score of 1-over 71 as he paced FGCU for the second-straight round. Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) finished tied for 12th overall with a three-round 211 (+1) total – nine shots better than his previous low tournament record after rounds of 3-over 73 and 3-under 67 on Saturday.
 
FGCU posted an 866 total following rounds of 285-289-292 to finish just three shots behind 9th-place Marshall in the 18-team field. Host Eastern Kentucky claimed the tournament title with a dominant performance of 12-under par 828 – the only team in the field to post a sub-par total. Ohio came in 2nd place at +2 (842).
 
Weather again presented issues on Sunday as it did during Saturday's opening 36 holes as rain delayed play for more than three hours in the final round. Once action got underway, the Eagles all began on holes 9-12 in a shotgun format. The Green and Blue struggled early, as the back 9 – which statistically presents eight of the 11 most-difficult holes on the course – yielded just one birdie to an FGCU golfer in the final round compared with eight on the front side.
 
Jones led FGCU on Sunday with his 71, but was followed closely by Anthony Quintessenza with a 73, Casper Howells and Michael Keymont with rounds of 74 and Andrew Potter with a 75.
 
"We just weren't able to get off to a good start today and that cost us," commented FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "We were able to get things going on our back 9, the front side, but it was too late. Hopefully we're able to take some key learning points from this season-opening tournament and apply them in our next event."
 
In a testament to the back-9 and front-9 scoring differences, FGCU collectively shot +15 on holes 10-18 in the final round compared with a +2 performance on holes 1-9. Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS) took advantage the most as – after making the turn with a 40 – he birdied four of the first six holes on the front and eventually finished with a 2-under 33 on the front for his 73 and a tie for 41st overall at +8 for the weekend.
 
Also joining the junior in a tie for the 41st position was Howells (London, England/Bradford College) with a three-round 218 total. After opening the tournament with rounds of even-par 70 and a 74, Howells was 5-over par making the turn (he started on hole 9), but finished the final eight holes playing 1-under par for his second-consecutive 74.
 
Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) was just two shots behind Howells' pace with a three-round 220. He wrapped up his event with a 75 on Sunday with his lone birdie coming on the par-5 2nd.
 
Rounding out the FGCU scoring was Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Timber Creek HS) with a final-round 74. The junior transfer actually had the best round going for the Eagles on Sunday as he was just 1-over par heading to his second-to-last hole of the day, but made a triple bogey on the par-4 9th to finish with his 74 as part of a 227 total.
 
The Eagles will now head to George Mason University's Patriot Intercollegiate next Sunday and Monday, Sept. 25-26, for 54 holes at Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton, Va.
 
FGCU Lineup
T12) Keaton Jones: 73-67-71: 211, +1
T41) Casper Howells: 70-74-74: 218, +8
T41) Anthony Quintessenza: 71-74-73: 218, +8
T52) Andrew Potter: 71-74-75: 220, +10
T81) Michael Keymont: 76-77-74: 227, +17
 
EKU Intercollegiate Participating Teams (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 195 Eastern Kentucky: 284-268-276: 828 (-12)
2) 197 Ohio: 282-274-286: 842 (+2)
3) 145 Cleveland State: 285-270-292: 847 (+7)
4) 120 Eastern Michigan: 291-280-279: 850 (+10)
5) 231 Longwood: 285-283-284: 852 (+12)
6) 157 Dayton: 287-287-282: 856 (+16)
7) 118 UT Martin: 288-281-288: 857 (+17)
8) 228 George Mason: 283-284-294: 861 (+21)                        
9) 164 Marshall: 285-291-287: 863 (+23)
10) 200 Mercer: 279-288-297: 864 (+24)
11) 238 SIU Edwardsville: 289-285-291: 865 (+25)
12) 139 FGCU: 285-289-292: 866 (+26)
13) 144 Murray State: 292-290-290: 872 (+32)
14) 219 Morehead State: 295-289-300: 884 (+44)
15) N/A Northern Kentucky: 306-294-285: 885 (+45)
16) 209 Youngstown State: 300-292-295: 887 (+47)
17) 289 Eastern Illinois: 298-306-300: 904 (+64)
18) 258 Tennessee State: 307-303-298: 908 (+68)
 
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.