PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The FGCU men's golf team concluded play at the FAU Slomin Autism Invitational from PGA National's Squire Course on Sunday with a 304 final-round total to finish in 8th place in the Eagles' second-to-last regular-season event.
 
Andrew Potter finished as FGCU's low man for the tournament as the sophomore tied for 4th overall in the field of 74 with a 217 (69-72-76, +1) total following the final-round 76. Freshman Doug Smith paced the Eagles on the final day with a 2-over 74 and concluded his invitational tied for 18th with a 223 total (76-73-74).
 
UCF won the 13-team tournament with an 867 (+3) total, seven shots clear of Jacksonville State (874). FGCU shot its first plus-300 round of the tournament on Sunday and finished with an 897 total, the first time in five events the Green and Blue haven't posted a 2nd- or 3rd-place showing.
 
"The team is obviously disappointed at the end result, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. We had a slow start, but came back a little bit in the middle of the round," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "But we need to find more consistency in attitude while playing the game. We need to learn how to eliminate one side of the golf course, among other things. It was a good effort overall, but we fell short of our goal."
 
In a testament to Booker's comments regarding the team's slow start, the Eagles – who started on holes 6-10 - made just three total birdies on holes 6-18 all day, but the five-man lineup made a strong push late in the round by rolling in eight total birdies on holes 1-5.
 
Leading that charge was Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples), who tied his career-best finish set earlier this year at FGCU's home event at Old Corkscrew. Potter played his first 13 holes of the day at +7, but played the last five at -3, including birdies on the 1st, 2nd and 5th.
 
Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) was relatively steady in the final round, as save for a bogey/double bogey showing on 14 and 15 he made all pars otherwise with the exception of a birdie on the par-3 6th to conclude his day.
 
Rounding out the FGCU scoring for Sunday were Keaton Jones, Casper Howells and Michael Keymont all with rounds of 77. Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) finished tied for 30th overall with a 227 total.
 
The Eagles will now conclude their regular season at the East Carolina Invitational Apr. 3-4 before turning their focus to the ASUN Championship Apr. 16-18.
 
FGCU LINEUP
T-4) Andrew Potter: 69-72-76: 217 (+1)
T-18) Doug Smith: 76-73-74: 223 (+7)
T-30) Keaton Jones: 78-72-77: 227 (+11)
T-50) Michael Keymont: 75-79-77: 231 (+15)
T-61) Casper Howells: 81-78-77: 236 (+20)
 
TOURNAMENT FIELD (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 55 UCF: 289-291-287: 867 (+3)
2) 83 Jacksonville State: 290-300-284: 874 (+10)
3) 133 Connecticut: 298-297-288: 883 (+19)
4) 132 Southern Mississippi: 296-306-285: 887 (+23)
5) 187 Northern Illinois: 298-306-285: 889 (+25)
6) 191 Georgetown: 291-301-300: 892 (+28)
7) 190 DePaul: 304-295-294: 893 (+29)
8) 172 FGCU: 298-295-304: 897 (+33)
9) 209 FAU: 304-301-301: 906 (+42)
10) 237 Murray State: 316-296-297: 909 (+45)
11) 214 Stetson: 305-304-304: 913 (+49)
T-12) 256 Hartford: 307-316-300: 923 (+59)
T-12) 240 Morehead State: 302-317-923: 923 (+59)
 
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.