PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Led by a season-low-tying 69 from Andrew Potter, the FGCU men's golf team is tied for 5th place following the first day of the FAU Slomin Autism Invitational from PGA National's Squire Course.
 
Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) is tied for 2nd place overall after recording his second-straight 3-under round to pace the Eagles, who shot a collective 298 total and are just nine shots behind tournament leader UCF (289) heading into Saturday's second round. FGCU is tied with Connecticut and Northern Illinois, just two strokes behind Southern Mississippi (296), seven shy of Georgetown (291) and eight back of Jacksonville State (290).
 
The sophomore got off to a scorching start as he was 4-under through his opening 9 holes (started on 11), but Potter gave a couple strokes back on 2 and 5 before closing strong with a birdie on the par-4 9th – one of just four birdies recorded all day by the field of 74 on the tight 395-yard hole.
 
Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Timber Creek HS) made the third-most pars in the field on Friday with 13, but two tough double bogeys prevented a potential under-par round for the junior, who signed for a 75. Right behind Keymont was freshman Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) with a 76. It was a tale of two 9s for Smith, who started on hole 11 and played the back 9 in 43 (+7) before making the turn and playing the front 9 in 33 (-3). An eagle on the par-5 1st helped fuel Smith's comeback.
 
Making his return to the FGCU lineup after a week off, Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) – like Keymont – had a relatively clean scorecard, but three double bogeys kept the senior from a low round as he finished with a 78. Entering the tournament, Casper Howells (London, England/Bradford College) had been FGCU's hottest player finishing tied for 2nd and tied for 1st his last two tournaments, but the senior uncharacteristically struggled on Friday with an 81.
 
"We had some unfortunate bad bounces today, but Andrew continued to play very well, and I'm really proud of how Doug steadied himself after a poor first nine holes," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "After the round we had a good practice, and we feel we're ready to bounce back and move up the leaderboard tomorrow."
 
The 69 for Potter – who is one off the tournament lead – matches his final round at the Cape Fear National Intercollegiate on Monday, and is his third round in the 60s in his collegiate career. The first was a 5-under 66 at last year's FAU Slomin Autism Invitational, but that came at a different course. Potter tied for the 4th-most birdies in the field with five, and played the par-4 holes at 2-under – tied for the 2nd-best in the field (leader: -3).
 
While Howells struggled on Friday, he finished tied for 4th in the field in par-3 scoring at even par, including a birdie on the challenging 176-yard 6th – one of only four birdies the hole yielded all day. Smith was one of nine players to record an eagle on the day, while Keymont played the par 5s at 2-under par (tied for 8th in the field).
 
The second of three rounds is scheduled to get underway again with a shotgun start on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. FGCU will tee off from holes 10-13 (two groups on the 11th) and be paired with UConn, Northern Illinois and Morehead State. Live scoring is available via Golfstat by clicking here.
 
FGCU LINEUP
T-2) Andrew Potter: 69 (-3)
T-25) Michael Keymont: 75 (+3)
T-33) Doug Smith: 76 (+4)
T-48) Keaton Jones: 78 (+6)
T-61) Casper Howells: 81 (+9)
 
TOURNAMENT FIELD (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 55 UCF: 289 (+1)
2) 83 Jacksonville State: 290 (+2)
3) 191 Georgetown: 291 (+3)
4) 132 Southern Mississippi: 296 (+8)
T-5) 172 FGCU: 298 (+10)
T-5) 133 Connecticut: 298 (+10)
T-5) 187 Northern Illinois: 298 (+10)
8) 240 Morehead State: 302 (+14)
T-9) 190 DePaul: 304 (+16)
T-9) 209 FAU: 304 (+16)
11) 214 Stetson: 305 (+17)
12) 256 Hartford: 307 (+19)
13) 237 Murray State: 316 (+28)
 
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.