FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – One the best rounds in program history, all four counting scores being below par and Cole Castro winning medalist honors highlighted the FGCU men's golf team's catapult up the leaderboard in the final round of the Loyola (Md.) Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate on Tuesday as the Eagles finished in 3rd place.
 
Freshman Castro (Homestead, Fla./South Dade HS) continued his brilliant spring season with a career-best 5-under 67 in the final round. Combined with an opening-round 2-under 70 and 1-over 73 in the 2nd round, his 210 (-6) total was one shot better than Matt Naumec from Boston College and Austin Lancaster from Austin Peay.
 
Entering the day tied for 7th at Fort Lauderdale Country Club's North Course, FGCU put together a 277 final-round total (-11) – tied for the 7th-best round in program history and tied for the 2nd-best final round in program history.
 
The Eagles' 869 three-round total (+5) was six shots clear of 4th-place and host Loyola (Md.) with an 875. Austin Peay won the 14-team tournament with an 863 (-1), three shots ahead of overnight leader Toledo (866). FGCU's 277 final round was the best by any team in the tournament in any round.
 
All four of the Eagles' counting scores were in the red, led by Castro's second round in the 60s in as many days and his first medalist honor. Andrew Potter was right on his heels with a 3-under 69 – his team-leading fourth round in the 60s this year.
 
Michael Keymont signed for a career-low 70 – three shots better than his previous best in his two years with the Green and Blue. Doug Smith rounded out the counting scores for the Eagles with a 1-under 71 – the sophomore's third par-or-better performance this season. Grant Renegar also put together a solid round with 72 – also his third par-or-better 18 of the year – and a score typically that would be one of the lowest on a given day.
 
The 11-under score relative to par for FGCU is tied for the 6th-best all-time and is tied for the best-ever performance for the program in a final round.
 
"I'm very proud of the synergy and commitment of this team to improve their talent this spring," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "Being a part of this day and watching these guys break through to shoot the score they needed was very gratify. Cole was amazing, but everyone did their part to make this day count."
 
In addition to the main FGCU quintet, James Leadbetter (Bradenton, Fla./Arkansas/IMG Academy) played as an individual and finished with a 77 to post a 232 (+16) total over the three rounds.
 
In addition to Castro finishing 1st, Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State College/Timber Creek) closed out the tournament in a tie for 12th overall out of 90 competitors with a 218 (+2) total and Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) tied for 25th at 221 (+5).
With the performance Tuesday, FGCU has now finished 1st, tied for 1st (lost in a playoff) and 3rd in its first three spring tournaments.
 
FGCU will look to stay hot as the Eagles will make the trek up I-75 to compete in the USF Classic next Monday-Tuesday, Mar. 12-13.
 
FGCU Individual Performances
1) Cole Castro: 70-73-67: 210 (-6)
T-12) Michael Keymont: 74-74-70: 218 (+2)
T-25) Doug Smith: 75-75-71: 221 (+5)
T-30) Andrew Potter: 77-76-69: 222 (+6)
T-50) Grant Renegar: 75-79-72: 226 (+10)
T-76) James Leadbetter: 78-77-77: 232 (+16)
 
Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate Team Standings (# Golfstat Ranking)
1) #200 Austin Peay: 284-299-280: 863 (-1)
2) #113 Toledo: 288-285-293: 866 (+2)
3) #196 FGCU: 294-298-277: 869 (+5)
4) #143 Loyola (Md.): 296-298-281: 875 (+11)
T-5) #139 Boston College: 290-295-292: 877 (+13)
T-5) #189 FAU: 299-289-289: 877 (+13)
7) #142 Connecticut: 292-292-298: 882 (+18)
8) #228 Hartford: 298-302-285: 885 (+21)
9) #141 Old Dominion: 298-293-296: 887 (+23)
10) #214 Drexel: 296-299-293: 888 (+24)
11) #218 Davidson: 303-296-294: 893 (+29)
12) #229 St. Bonaventure: 295-297-306: 898 (+34)
13) #269 St. John's: 300-304-295: 899 (+35)
14) #236 Villanova: 301-301-302: 904 (+40)
 
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. He has led the Eagles to a pair of wins in limited-field events the last two years, in addition to a tie for 1st at Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate in February of 2018. 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.