FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's golf team treks to familiar grounds for the 2019 ASUN Championships, which will be contested April 21-23 at the par-72, 7,032-yard Legends Course at Chateau Elan.

This marks the 10th-straight year the conference tournament will be held on the Legends Course in Braselton, Georgia. The Eagles have finished fifth at the event each of the last four years.

The championship is scheduled for 54 holes broken up over three 18-hole rounds Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. FGCU enters as the No. 5 seed and will begin teeing off in Sunday's opening round at 8:36 a.m. Tee times for the final two rounds will be determined based on standings. Teams will begin teeing off Monday at 10:15 a.m., with Tuesday's final round slated to begin at 8 a.m.

UNF enters as the top seed, with Liberty seeded No. 2 and Jacksonville in the third position. Kennesaw State is seeded fourth. Complete GolfStat rankings of all participants can be found below.

"We know we can compete against the top teams in the league. From tee to green, we're as good as any of them. It's all about the short game. If we do well in that area, it'll be an exciting event," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "I feel good about the team. They have the right mindset going in, and they definitely have the ability to win this tournament."

LINEUP
1. Senior Andrew Potter (Naples, FL/Community School of Naples)
2. Sophomore Cole Castro (Homestead, FL/South Dade HS)
3. Freshman Tate Heintzelman (Granger, IN/Saint Joseph HS)
4. Freshman Chase Bigham (Naples, FL/Seacrest Country Day School)
5. Junior Doug Smith (Windermere, FL/Olympia HS)

Potter leads the team with a scoring average of 72.20 this season. He owns 16 rounds (out of 25) at par or better and the 67 he fired on March 31 at the FAU Spring Championship was the second-lowest of his career. He has finished inside the top 25 in all nine tournaments, with a season-best T-5 coming at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational. The senior will make his fourth-straight appearance at the ASUN tournament. He has improved his position all three years, beginning with a solo 24th effort in 2016 moving up to last year's T-14 effort. He finished 18th in 2017.

Castro's stroke average of 73.16 is right behind Potter for the team lead. He recently shot 208 at the FAU tournament, which was the lowest three-round total by an Eagle since 2013. His efforts garnered him his second ASUN Men's Golfer of the Week laurel and first of this season. He tied for fifth at that event and also tied for fourth in Fort Lauderdale. He has landed inside the top 30 in eight of nine events this season. Castro competed at last year's ASUN Championship and finished in solo 31st.

Heintzelman has competed in seven tournaments and has compiled a stroke average of 74.21. He finished under par to tie for 21st in Boca Raton with a season-low 215. He also recorded a T-5 performance in Texas to open the spring and has finished outside the top 30 in a tournament just twice.

Bigham is averaging a 75.32 and has played in every event this season. He has factored into the team score in every single round he has played during the spring portion of the campaign. He tied for ninth at the Colin Montgomerie tourney and also landed at T-13 in Fort Lauderdale.

Smith returns to the lineup after sitting out the last four events. He has competed in four tournaments in 2018-19, with a season-best T-28 coming back in September at the Sam Hill Intercollegiate. He, like Potter and Castro, has experience playing at Chateau Elan. He tied for 23rd at the 2017 ASUN Championships and landed T-34 at last year's installment.

"The weather looks good for the championship. We need to stay patient and trust our talent. That will be the deciding factor this week," Booker said. "Being committed to every stroke seems to be the biggest challenge every time we tee it up."

Complete Field [Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of 4/17]:
15 - North Florida
20 - Liberty
70 - Jacksonville
83 - Kennesaw State
147 - FGCU
188 - Lipscomb
247 - Stetson
N/A - North Alabama

FGCU ALL-TIME AT THE ASUN CHAMPIONSHIPS
2018 - 5th
2017 - 5th
2016 - 5th
2015 - 5th
2014 - 10th
2013 - 6th
2012 - 4th
2011 - T-6th
2010 - 2nd
2009 - 5th

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 fourth-year coach Eric Booker, a member of the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide Series) for portions of 17 years from 1990-07. He has led the Eagles to three wins over the last two years, in addition to a tie for first at Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate in February 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 third at the 1999 Honda Classic.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 76 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 35 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours - being recognized as one of two runner-ups for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

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