The FGCU men's golf team powered into second place following the first two rounds of the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate, which is being contested at the par-72, 6,861-yard Fort Lauderdale Country Club.
The Eagles sat sixth after Monday's opening 18 holes, but they shot up the standings after carding the lowest total of the second round at 9-under-par 279. They will enter Tuesday's final round at 5-under 571 (292-279), trailing only a USF squad that is ranked No. 23 in the nation and is by far the highest-rated team in the field. The Bulls sit atop the leaderboard at 20-under 556 (276-280). UConn is third at 2-under 574 (288-286), while VCU (285-290) and host Loyola-Maryland (282-293) are positioned in a tie for fourth.
"It's always a long day on the course when you play 36 holes. The team started out slow before settling into their rounds. I am proud of all of them for how they stayed patient today," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "Cole had a great second round, while Andrew, Tate and Chase played solid but left a few opportunities out there. J.T. scrambled and gave us a counting score in the first round. Everybody is pumped about playing tomorrow."
Senior Andrew Potter (71-70) and sophomore Cole Castro (75-66) led the Green and Blue and are tied for seventh overall at 3-under 141. Castro's second-round 66 was the lowest of his career.
True freshman Chase Bigham currently sits at T-18 with a score of 1-over 145 (74-71), while classmate Tate Heintzelman is one stroke back (74-72) in a tie for 23rd.
Sophomore J.T. Barker – making his debut for the Eagles after spending his freshman year at NJCAA Northampton Community College– had a counting score for the first round and is tied for 45th at 7-over 151 (73-78).
USF has the top two individuals after the first rounds of action. Albin Bergstrom leads the field at 11-under 133 (67-66), while Luke Gifford carded a 6-under 138 (68-70).
Tuesday's final round will be a staggered start beginning at 8:09 a.m. The Eagles will begin teeing off on the front 9 in the final groups at 9:30 a.m.
FORT LAUDERDALE INTERCOLLEGIATE – First Day Results
March 4-5, 2019 at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
(par-72, 6,861-yard Fort Lauderdale Country Club)
Team Results
1. #23 USF 276-280=556 (-20)
2. #160 FGCU 292-279=571 (-5)
3. #128 UConn 288-286=574 (-2)
T4. #154 VCU 285-290=575 (-1)
#194 Loyola-Maryland 282-293=575 (-1)
6. #174 Boston College 294-283=577 (+1)
7. #151 Florida Atlantic 294-285=579 (+3)
8. #102 Davidson 289-295=584 (+8)
9. #207 George Mason 296-296=592 (+16)
10. #196 Old Dominion 300-297=597 (+21)
11. #253 Hartford 302-296=598 (+22)
12. #269 Villanova 312-302=614 (+38)
Top-5 Individuals
1. Albin Bergstrom (USF) 67-66=133 (-11)
2. Luke Gifford (USF) 68-70=138 (-6)
3. Christian Cavaliere (Boston College) 72-67=139 (-5)
T4. Ian Peng (VCU) 69-71=140 (-4)
Sully Zagerman (Florida Atlantic) 69-71=140 (-4)
Jimmy Hervol (UConn) 70-70=140 (-4)
FGCU Individuals
T7. Andrew Potter 71-70=141 (-3)
T7. Cole Castro 75-66=141 (-3)
T18. Chase Bigham 74-71=145 (+1)
T23. Tate Heintzelman 74-72=146 (+2)
T45. J.T. Barker 73-78=151 (+7)
Quotes From Other Coaches:
USF- "You're always interested to see how our guys will handle that expectation and that pressure, and ultimately how they will perform," said assistant coach Brad Caldwell. "I thought today they did a pretty good job with all that. When you have three freshmen in your top five leading you and you're able to put up scores like you've done, that speaks great to the future of this program but also how we're playing now as well."
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow with seeing how they handle playing with the lead and a chance to win. Having a couple guys battling for the individual title also will be exciting to watch."
Up Next:
FGCU turns right back around to tackle the Pinehurst Intercollegiate March 8-10 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
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