RICHMOND, Ky. – The FGCU men's golf team began its 2016-17 season Saturday at the EKU Intercollegiate battling windy and rainy conditions to finish tied for 9th place after 36 holes and just seven shots out of 4th place at the University Club at Arlington heading into Sunday's final round.
 
Spearheaded by a career-best 3-under 67 from senior Keaton Jones in the 2nd round, the Eagles posted team rounds of 285 and 289 for a 574 total (+14). Host Eastern Kentucky leads the tournament following a blistering 268 (-12) in the 2nd round to finish with a two-round 552 total (-8).
 
The opening-round 285 (+5) for FGCU was the team's third-best score under head coach Eric Booker, who is in his third year with the Eagles, behind only a 283 performance in March of 2015 and a 281 this past spring. The Green and Blue were tied for 5th following the opening 18 of the day, just three shots out of 2nd and six behind then-leader Mercer.
 
Despite the 2nd-round 289 (+9), FGCU lost a few places to the field, but still recorded its first pair of sub-290 rounds in the same tournament since the spring of 2014.
 
"It was a long day battling 30-mph winds in the morning and then running into an hour of rain in the afternoon before things calmed down later in the day," commented Booker. "I wish we could use those conditions as an excuse, but we had moments of good team play that just weren't sustainable. Keaton did a nice job by improving on his morning round and is in position for medalist honors. Hopefully a better day is awaiting us tomorrow."
 
Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) is tied for 14th overall with a 140 total (E) after an opening-round 73. He's just six shots off the lead set by Ty Herriott from Ohio, who signed for rounds of 69 and 65 (134, -6). Jones began his 2nd round with a birdie, followed with a bogey on the 2nd hole and then rattled off 11-straight pars before recording three-straight birdies from holes 14-16. The 67 is his first collegiate sub-70 round.
 
He opened his 1st round by sandwiching a birdie between a pair of bogeys before finishing the front side with six-straight pars. Jones recorded a birdie on the par-5 12th but came in with a 37 to finish with his 73.
 
Senior Casper Howells (London, England/Bradford College) is tied for 36th with a 144 total. He got his final campaign in the Green and Blue off to a strong start with an opening-round 70 – the third-lowest round of his career and best since a pair of 69s in September 2014. He went out in even-par 35 with a birdie on the par-5 2nd and bogey on the par-3 7th before coming in with another 35 on the strength of three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey. The three birdies on the back 9 in the opening round were as many as FGCU's four other golfers had combined. Unfortunately he couldn't continue it with just one birdie on his second 18 of the day, and a triple bogey on the 11th proved costly.
 
Sophomore Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) opened his tournament with a steady 1-over 71 in the 1st round. Potter made 14 pars, with the lone exceptions being a pair of birdies on holes 3 and 6 to start at -2. However, he gave them back and then one with a bogey on 7th – something four of FGCU's five competitors did on that hole in the opening round – and an unfortunate double bogey on the 17th.
 
Potter is tied for 44th as he posted a 2nd-round 74 for a 145 total. He made four birdies in his closing round of the day, but six bogeys and a double bogey on the 415-yard, par-4 11th hurt him finishing up the day.
 
Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS) is also tied for 44th despite getting off to a torrid start in the 1st round with a birdie on hole 3 and an eagle – the first of the year for the Eagles – on the par-4 4th to quickly move his scorecard to -3. However, he bogeyed three of the final four holes on the front to go out in 35 before playing 1-over on the back to sign for a 71. Like Potter, he recorded a 74 in the 2nd round, but had a respectable 1-over round going until finishing with a double bogey on 17 and bogey on 18.
 
Making his FGCU debut, junior transfer Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Timber Creek HS) got off to a tough start with a 76 in the opening round, but he was the only FGCU player to not record a double bogey. He concluded with a 77 in the 2nd round for a 153 total.
 
The par-70 layout is playing at just 6,623 yards. With just two par-5s on the course, a premium is placed on the short game and approach shots, especially early on as six of the first seven par-4s – through hole 10 – play less than 400 yards, but each of the final five par-4s are longer than 400.
 
In a testament to that, in the opening round the Eagles collectively shot +4 on the front 9 compared with +7 on the back, and all four of their double bogeys that were made occurred on holes 10-18.
 
Final-round action is set to begin on Sunday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Originally, the schedule called for tee times to begin at 8 a.m., but that plan has been altered due to potential weather issues in the afternoon. Live scoring can be accessed all day by following here.
 
FGCU Lineup
T-14) Keaton Jones: 73-67 (140, E)
T-36) Casper Howells: 70-74 (144, +4)
T-44) Andrew Potter: 71-74 (145, +5)
T-44) Anthony Quintessenza: 71-74 (145, +5)
T-84) Michael Keymont: 76-77 (153, +13)
 
EKU Intercollegiate Participating Teams (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 195 Eastern Kentucky: 284-268: 552 (-8)
2) 145 Cleveland State: 285-270: 555 (-5)
3) 197 Ohio: 282-274: 556 (-4)
T-4) 200 Mercer: 279-288: 567 (+7)
        228 George Mason: 283-284: 567 (+7)                        
6) 231 Longwood: 285-283: 568 (+8)
7) 118 UT Martin: 288-281: 569 (+9)
8) 120 Eastern Michigan: 291-280: 571 (+11)
T-9) 139 FGCU: 285-289: 574 (+14)
T-9) 157 Dayton: 287-287: 574 (+14)
T-9) 238 SIU Edwardsville: 289-285: 574 (+14)
12) 164 Marshall: 285-291: 576 (+16)
13) 144 Murray State: 292-290: 582 (+22)
14) 219 Morehead State: 295-289: 584 (+24)
15) 209 Youngstown State: 300-292: 592 (+32)
16) N/A Northern Kentucky: 306-294: 600 (+40)
17) 289 Eastern Illinois: 298-306: 604 (+44)
18) 258 Tennessee State: 307-303: 610 (+50)
 
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.