FORT LAUDERDALE – The FGCU men's golf team continued its strong start to the spring season as the Eagles shot a final-round 291 to finish in sole possession of 3rd place and just one shot out of 2nd at the Loyola (Md.) Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate on Tuesday.
 
Casper Howells tied for 2nd overall in the field of 83, the highest finish in the senior's collegiate career and just his second top 10. After opening his tournament with a 4-over 76, Howells (London, England/Bradford College) bounced back with a 4-under 68 in the 2nd round before concluding the final round with a 1-under 71 for a 215 (-1) three-round total.
 
The Eagles (309-285-291: 885, +21) battled windy conditions on Monday and Tuesday and finished just a stroke behind Seton Hall. Richmond won the 14-team invitational with an 871 (+7) total. FGCU created plenty of separation as the Eagles finished 10 shots clear of 4th-place Old Dominion. The Eagles finished ahead of four teams ranked better than them entering the week, including conference foe Stetson (934) for the second-straight week by nearly 50 shots.
 
Combined with its 3rd-place finish last week at Stetson's Frontier Secure Intercollegiate, it marks the first time since the 2011-12 season that FGCU has posted consecutive top-3 finishes. Going back to the end of the fall portion of the schedule when the Eagles finished 2nd out of 16 teams at their home event, they have secured three-straight top-3 showings for the first time since that 2011-12 squad incredibly won four-straight tournaments to end the fall season.
 
"I'm really pleased with how the guys battled back after a tough 1st round with really good performances in the final two rounds in pretty challenging conditions," commented FGCU head coach Eric Booker, whose team had the best 2nd-round score in the field and the 2nd-best final-round score. "We're starting to put consecutive rounds together which is really important. Hopefully we can keep it going and continue to improve throughout the coming month heading into the ASUN Championship."
 
Battling high winds both days, freshman Doug Smith performed admirably in his first collegiate team competition, finishing tied for 10th overall with a +5 (221) total. Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) carded a final-round 74 on the par-72, 6,888-yard Fort Lauderdale Country Club North Course.
 
Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) posted a solo 18th-place finish (225) despite a final-round 77. After struggling on Monday, both Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) and Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State College/Timber Creek HS) rebounded Tuesday with 1-over 73s to finish tied for 26th (228) and tied for 35th (230), respectively.
 
FGCU led the field in par-5 scoring, collectively shooting -17 over the three rounds. Howells led the charge as he played those holes at -8 – two shots better than anyone else in the field. The Eagles rolled in 44 birdies – the 2nd-most in the field – and one of just two teams (Seton Hall, 48) with more than 40 birdies.
 
The Eagles will now turn their focus to Appalachian State's Cape Fear Intercollegiate Mar. 19-20 in LeLand, N.C. FGCU competed in the tournament at Cape Fear National Golf Course last year and finished tied for 6th out of 13 teams.
 
FGCU LINEUP
T-2) Casper Howells: 76-68-71: 215 (-1)
T-10) Doug Smith: 78-69-74: 221 (+5)
18) Keaton Jones: 76-72-77: 225 (+9)
T-26) Andrew Potter: 79-76-73: 228 (+12)
T-35) Michael Keymont: 81-76-73: 230 (+14)
 
COMPLETE TOURNAMENT FIELD (Golfstat Ranking)
1) 98 Richmond: 292-298-281: 871 (+7)
2) 151 Seton Hall: 293-289-302: 884 (+20)
3) 192 FGCU: 309-285-291: 885 (+21)
4) 178 Old Dominion: 296-298-301: 895 (+31)
5) 226 FAU: 305-294-298: 897 (+33)
6) 183 Loyola (Md.): 303-304-294: 901 (+37)
7) 140 Mercer: 307-304-300: 911 (+47)
8) 231 Drake: 302-305-305: 912 (+48)
9) 236 St. Bonaventure: 310-297-307: 914 (+50)
10) 166 Stetson: 319-307-308: 934 (+70)
11) 245 Tennessee Tech: 311-319-311: 941 (+77)
12) 251 Hartford: 315-316-312: 943 (+79)
13) 270 Manhattan: 321-318-308: 947 (+83)
14) 291 Holy Cross: 329-326-315: 970 (+106)
 
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.