FORT LAUDERDALE – Battling windy conditions throughout the day, the FGCU men's golf team bounced back from a poor 1st round to improve 24 shots and move five spots up the leaderboard to finish the first day of the Loyola (Md.) Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate at Fort Lauderdale Country Club on Monday in 3rd place.
 
The Eagles recorded an opening-round 309 before bouncing back with an impressive 285 in the 2nd round – four shots better than any of the other 13 competing teams. FGCU is tied with Old Dominion for 3rd place with a 594 total, four shots behind 2nd place Richmond and 12 back of tournament leader Seton Hall.
 
Winds gusted up to 50 mph on Monday, and combined with fast greens made scoring extremely difficult. However, the Eagles adjusted after lunch and were led by senior Casper Howells (London, England/Bradford College) who tied a season best with a 4-under 68 in the 2nd round following a 4-over 76 in the 1st round to sit in a tie for 2nd place overall at even par 144.
 
"It was a very challenging day dealing with fast greens and strong winds," commented FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "I'm mostly proud of how the team dealt with the poor 1st round by showing some maturity and sticking to our game plan by shooting 3-under par for the 2nd round. We're all looking forward to tomorrow's challenging final round."
 
That final round for the Green and Blue will get underway at 9:30 a.m. as the Eagles will be in the final threesome with Richmond and Seton Hall off hole 1. The groups will head out in 9-minute increments, but no live scoring will be available.
 
Freshman Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) recorded his low collegiate round with a 3-under 69 in the second 18 of the day after signing for a 6-over 78 in the 1st round. He is tied for 8th overall in the field of 83 as he worked his way around the par-72, North Course at 147 (+3) through two rounds.
 
The Eagles have three golfers in the top 15 individually as Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) is tied for 12th after rounds of 76-72, and is just one shot behind Smith's pace of 147.
 
Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) and Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State College/Timber Creek HS) rounded out the FGCU scoring for the day with totals of 155 (79-76) and 157 (81-76), respectively.
 
Howells led the field in par-5 scoring at 6-under for the two rounds – two shot better than any other player. He recorded an eagle and eight birdies on the opening day, with the eight birdies tied for the 3rd-most in the field.
 
FGCU LINEUP
T-2) Casper Howells: 76-68:144 (E)
T-8) Doug Smith: 78-69: 147 (+3)
T-12) Keaton Jones: 76-72: 148 (+4)
T-39) Andrew Potter: 79-76: 155 (+11)
T-45) Michael Keymont: 81-76: 157 (+13)
 
COMPLETE TOURNAMENT FIELD (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 151 Seton Hall: 293-289: 582 (+6)
2) 98 Richmond: 292-298: 590 (+14)
T-3) 192 FGCU: 309-285: 594 (+18)
T-3) 178 Old Dominion: 296-298: 594 (+18)
5) 226 FAU: 305-294: 599 (+23)
T-6) 183 Loyola (Md.): 303-304: 607 (+31)
T-6) 236 St. Bonaventure: 310-297: 607 (+31)
T-6) 231 Drake: 302-305: 607 (+31)
9) 140 Mercer: 307-304: 611 (+35)
10) 166 Stetson: 319-307: 626 (+50)
11) 245 Tennessee Tech: 311-319: 630 (+54)
12) 251 Hartford: 315-316: 631 (+55)
13) 270 Manhattan: 321-318: 639 (+63)
14) 291 Holy Cross: 329-326: 655 (+79)
 
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.