CENTREVILLE, Va. – On the strength of a top-10 showing by Andrew Potter and team-low final round by freshman DJ Griffiths, the FGCU men's golf team wrapped up George Mason's Patriot Intercollegiate Tuesday at Chantilly National Golf and Country Club in a tie for 2nd place out of 16 teams.
 
FGCU finished the tournament with a three-round 876 (+12) total, just three shots behind champion Appalachian State (873, +9). The Eagles and Mountaineers entered the final round tied and just five shots behind overnight leader Delaware, but the Blue Hens recorded a final-round 298 compared with FGCU's 293 and App State's 290 and concluded the event tied with the Green and Blue.
 
Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) paced the Eagles by finishing in a tie for 6th place overall at +1 after rounds of 69-71-77 (217). After making eight birdies over his first two rounds on Monday, the junior was able to record just one during Tuesday's final round, but still posted the second-best performance (in terms of finish) of his career.
 
Making his collegiate tournament debut, Griffiths (Binghamton, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley HS) made the third-biggest jump in the 95-player field on Tuesday, climbing 17 spots from a tie for 35th following 2nd-round action to a tie for 18th on the heels of a 1-under 71 in the final round. Griffiths bounced back from a pair of 75s on Monday with FGCU's only under-par performance Tuesday, closing in a tie for 18th overall (221, +5).
 
FGCU had three players finish inside the top-20 overall as sophomore Doug Smith tied for 14th after signing for rounds of 74-70-75 (219, +3).

"I'm proud of the guys for almost bringing home a win despite a shaky start with a much stronger back side," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker, who led the Eagles to their fourth top-2 finish in his 3+ years at the helm. "It was good to see DJ play a solid event in his first start; he showed a lot of patience and maturity.
 
"Grant (Reneger) struggled yesterday, but improved today and demonstrated his grit," Booker added. "Andrew and Doug could have won the individual title, but they just had one of those days that golfers are going to have sometimes. We have some time off now, and hopefully we can tighten up our games and get ready for our next tournament. Right now it looks like we're on a good track."
 
Robert Renner Jr. tied for 33rd overall after shooting three-straight rounds of 75 (225, +9), while Grant Renegar tied for 44th. Renegar (McComb, Miss./ Meridian CC/Parklane Academy) bounced back nicely from a tough opening two rounds to record an even-par 72 in the final round. After making a double bogey on the par-4 15th to move his scorecard to 2-over on the day, he rebounded with birdies on 16 and 17 to get into the clubhouse at even.
 
Renner Jr. (Arlington Heights, Ill./Saint Viator HS), meanwhile, also had to fight back from a double bogey, but his occurred early in the round as both he and Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) made a six on the par-4 2nd – which yielded the 5th-most doubles all tournament. Renner Jr. immediately came back with a birdie on the par-5 3rd – the only hole on the entire course to play under par over the three rounds – and played just +2 the rest of the way en route to his 75.
 
Similarly, Smith settled down nicely as well as he went out in 39 before coming in with a 36 thanks to a birdie and a bogey to turn in his 75.
 
Griffiths had a little bit a roller-coaster day as he alternated a pair of birdies and bogeys on the front 9 to go out in even, but quickly birdied 11 and 12 to move to 2-under. Unfortunately, he gave those back with bogeys on 14 and 16, but a strong birdie on 18 – one of just five made by the entire field in the final round – gave the freshman his first collegiate sub-par round.
 
FGCU will now have nearly a month off from competitive action as the Eagles will next tee it up in Kennesaw State's Pinetree Intercollegiate Oct. 23-24.
 
FGCU Lineup
T-6) Andrew Potter: 69-71-77: 217 (+1)
T-14) Doug Smith: 74-70-75: 219 (+3)
T-18) DJ Griffiths: 75-75-71: 221 (+5)
T-33) Robert Renner Jr.: 75-75-75: 225 (+9)
T-44) Grant Renegar: 81-74-72: 227 (+11)
 
Patriot Intercollegiate Field (# = Golfstat Ranking)
1) #193 Appalachian State: 292-291-290: 873 (+9)
T-2) #169 FGCU: 293-290-293: 876 (+12)
T-2) #195 Delaware: 288-290-298: 876 (+12)
4) #174 Georgetown: 295-296-292: 883 (+19)
5) #158 Elon: 302-288-299: 889 (+25)
6) #200 Bethune-Cookman: 289-301-300: 890 (+26)
7) #168 George Mason: 293-294-308: 895 (+31)
8) #234 St. Bonaventure: 294-303-302: 899 (+35)
9) #188 Longwood: 304-301-297: 902 (+38)                                        
T-10) #257 Saint Joseph's: 299-307-302: 908 (+44)
T-10) #222 Villanova: 311-299-298: 908 (+44)                                                 
12) #207 Columbia: 307-300-308: 915 (+51)
13) #262 Lafayette: 307-308-307: 922 (+58)
14) #244 Wagner: 308-320-302: 930 (+66)
15) #240 St. John's: 317-304-321: 942 (+78)
16) N/A McDaniel: 317-314-315: 946 (+82)
 
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 4th-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.