FGCU MGOLF: Pinehurst Intercollegiate Day One Recap

 The FGCU men's golf team sits sixth after the opening round of the Pinehurst Intercollegiate, which is being contest at the par-71, 6,937-yard Pinehurst No. 8 Golf Course.

The Eagles struggled during Friday's first nine holes (the back 9) but steadied on the front to finish at 16-over-par 300. They were in the 10th position after shooting 10-over on the back 9, but climbed four positions after making the turn.

The Green and Blue trail leader Davidson, who leads the pack at 1-over 285. Radford sits second at 10-over 294, while Eastern Kentucky and Old Dominion are locked into third at 11-over 295. Sandwiched between those two and FGCU is Dayton, who shot 15-over 299.

"We had a tough day overall on the greens and their distance control was off among other things," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "They were able to settle in and have a better second half of the round, hopefully that helps prepare us for tomorrow. Tate had a good round that kept us in it."

True freshman Tate Heintzelman was on fire in his opening round, making six birdies to land in solo second place at 1-under 70. Sophomore Cole Castro was next in line with a 4-over 75 to land T-28, while senior Andrew Potter shot 5-over 76 to find himself in a tie for 38th. True freshman Chase Bigham is tied for 57th at 8-over 79, and senior Remec Carlson– making his first appearance in the lineup for the Eagles – shot 9-over 80 and is tied for 62nd.

Davidson's Clayton Tribus leads the individuals at 4-under 67.

The Eagles will begin their second round teeing off on the first hole Saturday at 8:18 a.m.

PINEHURST INTERCOLLEGIATE – First Round Results
March 8-10, 2019 at Pinehurst, N.C.
(par-71, 6,937-yard Pinehurst No. 8)

Team Results
1. #114 Davidson 285 (+1)
2. #131 Radford 294 (+10)
T3. #150 Eastern Kentucky 295 (+11)
#197 Old Dominion 295 (+11)
5. #185 Dayton 299 (+15)
6. #136 FGCU 300 (+16)
T7. #195 Morehead State 301 (+17)
#201 Xavier 301 (+17)
9. #225 Marshall 302 (+18)
10. #191 Belmont 303 (+19)
11. #230 Longwood 305 (+21)
12. #270 Siena 310 (+26)
13. #181 Ohio 315 (+31)
14. #141 (D-III) Wisconsin-Lutheran 340 (+56)

Rankings reflect the latest Golfstat Rankings
Top-5 Individuals
1. Clayton Tribus (Davidson) 67 (-4)
2. Tate Heintzelman (FGCU) 70 (-1)
3. Chandler Wilkins (Old Dominion) 71 (E)
T4. Domenic Maricocchi (Dayton) 72 (+1)
Evan Davis (Belmont) 72 (+1)
Joe Muschong (Morehead State) 72 (+1)
Alex Ross (Davidson) 72 (+1)
Hunter Duncan (Radford) 72 (+1)
Andreas Nielsen (Eastern Kentucky) 72 (+1)
Martin Jaramillo (Xavier) 72 (+1)

FGCU Individuals
2. Tate Heintzelman 70 (-1)
T28. Cole Castro 75 (+4)
T38. Andrew Potter 76 (+5)
T57. Chase Bigham 79 (+8)
T62. Remec Carlson 80 (+9)

Up Next:
FGCU will take a pair of weeks off before competing at the FAU Spring Championship March 29-31 in Boca Raton, Florida, on the Osprey Point Golf Course.