Titan Men Tie for Second in Florida Tech Tournament

The shots didn't go the way Eastern Florida's men's golf team would have liked on Tuesday.

Leading the Florida Tech Panther Invitational by six strokes after Monday's 36-hole opening round, the Titans faltered in Tuesday's 18-hole finale and finished tied for second, one shot off the lead.

The defending tournament champion Titans shot 302 on Tuesday to finish at 885 along with Barry University, which shot 296. Kaiser University shot 295 to win at 884.

Eastern Florida was the only NJCAA college in the 14-team field.

Individually medalist honors went to Barry's Niclas Weiland who shot 69 to finish at 217. Eastern Florida's Bradley Bawden carded 74 to tie for second at 218.

Kerry Sweeney tied for 10^th with an 80 for 222. Teammate Corey Herman shot 77 for 223 to tie for 13^th. Tyler Bennett tied for 20^th with a 73 for 226. Michael Keymont tied for 42^nd with a 78 for 233.

"We got off to a poor start by four of our starting five," said Eastern Florida head coach Jamie Howell. "Tyler Bennett was our inspiration as he was one under par through nine. Everyone played hard and we hung in there until the end.

"The golf course played very hard in the windy conditions and the scoring by all teams is testament to how challenging the conditions  were. Another solid  tournament by Brad Bawden finishing second .

"One-shot deficits tell us how close we are and only better define how we go about preparing for our next event and the remainder of the season."

The tournament was held at Viera's Duran Golf Club, site of May's NJCAA Division I Men's championship which the Titans are hosting.

Next up for the Titans is the April 4-5 Barry Buccaneer Invitational in Miami Beach.