LAKE MARY, Fla. – The FGCU men's golf team kicked off its spring season with the first two rounds of Stetson's Frontier Secure Intercollegiate and wrapped up the first day of action at Heathrow Country Club in a tie for 5th.
 
Western Carolina, which turned in a 9-under 275 in the 2nd round, finished the day with a 3-under 565 total and holds a three-shot lead over Jacksonville State (568). Eleven shots separate 2nd and 3rd place as Keiser turned in a score of 579, while eight shots stand between the Seahawks and 4th-place Appalachian State (587). FGCU and host Stetson are in a tie for 5th place after carding 589 totals and hold a one-shot advantage over Ohio and Morehead State. 
 
Four out of five Eagles turned in better scores in their 2nd rounds as FGCU improved two places in the team standings from the morning to the afternoon.
 
"It was a bit of a slow day for us as the guys struggled to find their rhythm in the 1st round," stated FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "During the 2nd round we started out strong but just didn't finish off the last six holes or so. We're looking forward to a better final day tomorrow to make a move up the leaderboard."
 
Casper Howells (London, England/Bradford College) turned in the low round of the day for FGCU as he backed up a 2-over 73 in the morning with a 1-over 72 in the afternoon. Howells was tied for 15th heading into the 2nd round and moved up two places following his afternoon 18. The London native was steady during the opening round as he shot a 1-over 36 on the way out and matched it with a 1-over 37 on his way back in. Howells then had his 2nd round at 1-under through 12 holes. However, he gave away back-to-back shots on the par-4 13th and 14th holes before making his way into the clubhouse with four-straight pars.
 
Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) finished the day two shots behind his running mate after shooting a 3-over 74 in the morning followed by a 2-over 73 in the afternoon and is currently tied for 19th. The local product was shaky to start as he went out with a 3-over 38. However, he turned things around with birdies on the par-4 10th and 13th, but gave both shots back with a double bogey on the closing hole to shoot even-par on the back in the opening round. In his second 18 holes on the day, Potter was 1-under through four holes but bogeyed three of his last five holes on the front side. He then made seven pars with one birdie and one bogey in his final nine holes of the afternoon to get to his 5-over total.
 
Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) was two shots better in his afternoon round than his morning round as he paired a 5-over 76 with a 3-over 74 and stands in a tied for 36th. After shooting 38 on both his front and back nine in the morning, Smith went out in even-par in his 2nd round after carding two birdies and two bogeys. After doubling the 386-yard 10th hole, Smith responded with a birdie on the par-5 11th but ended his day with back-to-back bogeys to card his two-round total of 8-over 150.
 
After shooting the Eagles' high round with a 78 in the morning, Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) came out firing in the 2nd round as he birdied his first two holes and parred the next seven to make the turn at 2-under. The Ontario native then birdied the 10th to get to 3-under on his round, but scored bogey or worse on five of the last seven holes. Jones carded a 5-over 41 on the back and capped off the day with a 10-over total of 152.  
 
It was a tale of two rounds for the James Leadbetter (Bradenton, Fla./Arkansas/IMG Academy), who matched Howells for the team's low round in the morning but struggled down the stretch with a 12-over 83 in the afternoon. After a birdie on his opening hole in the second round, Leaderbetter carded three bogeys and a double in his final five holes on the front nine before turning in a birdie, bogey, double and two triples on the back.
 
FGCU was near the top of the field in par-4 scoring during the 1st and 2nd rounds, led by Potter's 4.06 average, which was tied for 5th-best in the field of 60 golfers. However, the Eagles struggled on par-3s as the team tied Embry-Riddle for last with a 25-over total.
 
The 3rd and final round of the Frontier Secure Intercollegiate will begin Tuesday morning. The Eagles will be paired with Appalachian State and Stetson as threesomes will go off hole 1 in 10-minute increments beginning at 8 a.m. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.
 
FGCU Lineup
T13) Casper Howells: 73-72: 145 (+3)
T19) Andrew Potter: 74-73: 147 (+5)
T36) Doug Smith: 76-74: 150 (+8)
T40) Keaton Jones: 78-74: 152 (+10)
T49) James Leadbetter: 73-83: 156 (+14)

Competing Teams (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 199 Western Carolina: 290-275: 565 (-3)
2) 67 Jacksonville State: 287-281: 568 (E)
3) N/A Keiser: 294-285: 579 (+11)
4) 226 Appalachian State: 292-295: 587 (+19)
T5) 193 FGCU: 296-293: 589 (+21)
T5) 160 Stetson: 292-297: 589 (+21)
T7) 162 Ohio: 293-297: 590 (+22)
T7) 236 Morehead State: 299-291: 590 (+22)
9) 234 FAU: 302-290: 592 (+24)
10) N/A Embry-Riddle: 306-295: 601 (+33)
11) N/A Stetson (B): 308-299: 607 (+39)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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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.