LA QUINTA, Calif. – Following a two-week break from competitive action, the FGCU men's golf team returns to action on the West Coast Monday and Tuesday for its final regular-season tournament of the year as part of Loyola Marymount's Geiberger Invitational.
 
The 54-hole tournament will feature 12 competing teams playing two rounds on Monday at the par-72, 7,204-yard PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course before the final round on Tuesday. Live scoring all tournament long and pairings/tee times each day will be available on Golfstat by clicking here.
 
FGCU will be paired with fellow ASUN Conference foe Stetson and NAIA member Menlo College in the first two rounds. The threesomes will head off the 10th tee Monday in nine-minute increments, beginning at 8:15 a.m. local (11:15 Eastern).
 
In addition to the three aforementioned teams, FGCU will also be teeing it up against a pair of top-50 nationally-ranked teams in BYU and Santa Clara, in addition to UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge, San Diego, Fresno State, Cal Poly and Pacific (complete Golfstat rankings at the end of this release).
 
FGCU head coach Eric Booker has settled into a reliable five-man lineup this spring, and he will – for the fifth-straight tournament – be sticking with that same quintet, just in a slightly different order than two weeks ago:
 
1) Andrew Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples)
2) Grant Renegar (McComb, Miss./Meridian CC/Parklane Academy)
3) Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS)
4) Cole Castro (Homestead, Fla./South Dade HS)
5) Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State College/Timber Creek)
 
That Eagles' lineup has already produced top-6 finishes in each of their spring tournaments – four top-4 showings – including a 1st-place trophy in their home event and a tie for 1st (lost in a one-hole playoff) the following week at Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate.
 
Potter leads FGCU in scoring for the year with a stroke average of 74.25, while Renegar (74.58), Castro (75.19), Smith (75.38) and Keymont (76.42) rank 2nd-5th, respectively. Potter has delivered six of FGCU's nine rounds in the 60s this year, and the junior also has a team-leading eight par-or-better performances. Renegar ranks 2nd on the team in both categories with two rounds in the 60s and seven par-or-better rounds.
 
Each of the five in the lineup have finished in the top 11 this year, led by freshman Castro's medalist honors out of 90 golfers at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate last month. That performance prompted him to be named ASUN Men's Golfer of the Week on Mar. 8.
 
This is the first time the Green and Blue have been on the West Coast since competing in the Saint Mary's Invitational to commence the 2014-15 season.
 
FGCU will look to remain hot as the Eagles commenced their spring season with a win in the five-team, limited-field (including an Eagles' 'B' squad) inaugural Randy Grimes Memorial Shootout on Feb. 11 at their home course of Old Corkscrew.
 
FGCU followed that performance up with a tie for 1st in Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate Feb. 26-27 out of nine teams before falling just short in a one-hole playoff to Bethune-Cookman.
 
Just under a month ago, the Eagles finished in 3rd place at the Loyola (Md.) Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate. Every counting score for the Green and Blue in the final round was under par as their 277 tied for the 7th-best round in program history and matched the 2nd-best final round in program history. The 11-under score relative to par for FGCU was tied for the 6th-best in program history, and equaled the best-ever performance for the program in a final round.
 
In mid-March at the USF Invitational, FGCU faced tough weather conditions during the first two rounds on Monday but still posted quality scores relative to the field, and finished in a tie for 4th following a strong final-round 3-under 69 by Renegar – tied for the best round out of the field's 66 golfers.
 
After a tough first two rounds at FAU's Slomin Autism Invitational two weeks ago, FGCU shot a 279 final round – tied for the 12th-best round in program history and matching the 4th-best final round all-time. The Eagles finished in 6th place overall out of 19 teams.
 
The Geiberger Invitational will serve as the final test for FGCU before the Eagles tee it up in the ASUN Championship Apr. 22-24 at The Legends at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga.
 
Geiberger Invitational Competing Teams (# Golfstat Ranking)
#38 BYU
#49 Santa Clara
#106 Fresno State
#113 UC Santa Barbara
#117 Loyola Marymount
#138 San Diego
#139 Cal Poly
#154 Pacific
#180 FGCU
#197 Cal State Northridge
#245 Stetson
#59 Menlo (NAIA)
 
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.