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Results
ESTERO, Fla. -- The Ohio men's golf team finished in a tie for sixth place with a total team score of 918 (+54) at the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic at Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero, Fla.
The Bobcats combined to fire a final-round 310 (+22) on Tuesday (Oct. 25), following up rounds of 316 (+28) and 292 (+4) on Monday (Oct. 24). Ohio tied Florida Atlantic for sixth after the Owls tallied round scores of 317 (+29), 306 (+18) and 295 (+7). The Bobcats and the Owls each finished with 36 birdies in the tournament -- good for a tie for fourth in the field. Ohio shot a tournament-best -6 on the par 5s.
"It's a very hard golf course we just played, and, giving the guys some leeway, they played some good golf in spurts," said 29th-year head coach Bob Cooley.
Eastern Kentucky won the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic with a total team score of 888 (+24) courtesy of round scores of 295 (+7), 285 (-3) and 308 (+20). Host Florida Gulf Coast took second with an 892 (+12) after recording round scores of 295 (+7), 297 (+9) and 300 (+12). Central Florida rounded out the top three with an 896 (+32), posting a first-round 300 (+12) and matching scores 298 (+10) in the second and third rounds.
Eastern Kentucky junior Will Sallee and Central Florida junior Manuel Elvira tied for medalist honors with matching scores of 219 (+3). Sallee shot rounds of 70 (-2), 68 (-4) and 81 (+9) while Elvira recorded rounds of 75 (+3), 74 (+2) and 70 (-2). Central Florida senior Ryan Stovash carded rounds of 73 (+1), 77 (+5) and 70 (-2) -- good enough for a total score of 220 (+4) and a third-place finish.
Senior co-captain Peyton White (Huntersville, N.C.) followed up rounds of 78 (+6) and 71 (-1) with a final-round 72 (E), giving him a total score of 221 (+5) and tying him for fourth place. White recorded three birdies on the back nine in the first round and three on the front nine and one on the back in the second, then tallied three birdies on the front nine in the first round. His 10 birdies tied for second in the field while his -5 on the par 5s was good enough for third.
"I think we played alright," said White. "We struggled a little bit. It's different playing in Florida; different type of grass, a lot of wind, a lot of water, a lot of palmetto bushes. It's definitely one of the tougher courses we play. It places a big emphasis on getting off the tee because on every hole there's water in one direction and there's palmetto bushes on the other. That's really difficult. We held our own. At the end of the day, it wasn't bad. It wasn't our best tournament. It was something in between."
Senior co-captain Ty Herriott (Brandywine, Md.) also represented the Bobcats in the top 10, tying for ninth place with a 223 (+7). Herriott improved upon a first-round 76 (+4) with a second-round 69 (-30), then carded a 78 (+6) in the final round. Herriott shot -1 on both the par 3s and the par 5s and totaled 10 birdies to tie for second in the field -- five of which came in the first round.
"Ty was playing really well and Peyton was playing pretty good," said Cooley. "Peyton didn't putt very well, and Ty just lost it coming down the stretch the last couple holes."
Junior Brady Bohl (Dublin, Ohio) tied for 52nd with a 238 (+22) after rounds of 81 (+9), 78 (+6) and 79 (+7). Bohl carded three birdies on the back nine in the second round.
Sophomore Michael Kenney (Kent, Ohio) totaled rounds of 82 (+10) and 79 (+7) on the first day of play, then shot a final-round 81 (+9), putting him in a tie for 65th with a 242 (+26). Two of Kenney's three birdies came on the front nine in the second round.
Sophomore Ben Sattler (Liberty Township, Ohio) shot an 81 (+9) in the first round and a 74 (+3) in the second, giving him a total of 155 (+11) and tying him for 37th on the opening day of play. Unfortunately, an improperly signed scorecard disqualified him in the final round.
The Bobcats wrapped up the fall portion of their 2016-17 schedule at the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic.
"It was definitely a good fall season, and we made some strides," said White. "It was good that we were able to play pretty decent despite not having (junior) Grant (Engel) all fall. We're going to try to build on that and play good golf in the spring."
The spring 2017 leg of Ohio's schedule begins Feb. 13-14 with Mid-American Match Play, which will be held at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club in Dade City, Fla.
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