Men's golf team wins the NJCAA Division I National Preview
The Eastern Florida State College men's golf team won its second straight tournament, shooting a 296 in the final round to win the NJCAA Division I National Preview Tuesday at Duran Golf Club.
Freshman Ben Ramos made his collegiate debut one he will never forget, finishing second in the tournament after an even par final round. He finished the three-round tournament with a 2-under 214, two strokes behind Wallace State's Matt Smith.
"It feels really, really nice. I came out this week not really expecting much, just playing my game," Ramos said. "A couple of buddies were encouraging me, saying it was just another round but finishing second in my first collegiate tournament is really nice to have under my belt. It is the best I have every played here. I didn't even play this well in qualifying."
Ramos was 4-under on the first three holes this week and finished with 11 birdies in the tournament.
The Titans won the NJCAA District 4 Preview in Marion, Illinois by 14 strokes and on Tuesday they won the National Preview by 12 strokes, finishing with a team score of 869.
"We played really good there and even better here, the scores that we put up here this week are amazing," said sophomore Beck Fox who finished third overall.
Fox, who shot two-over 72 in the final round and finished the tournament even par, credited his strong play on holes 16 to 18.
"One of my little goals for myself was to shoot even through those holes, they are definitely the hardest holes out here and if you can finish strong, you can win any tournament," Fox said.
Teammate Chandler Dixon tied for 10th overall with a 5-over 221, while Josh Stern shot a 222 and finished tied for 12th. Thomas Matthews tied for 14th with a 223.
"Third different lineup, two wins and a fourth, I like this group a lot. Not only talent wise, chemistry wise as well. They are all on the same page, Tom Matthews doesn't have his best stuff and the others step up," Eastern Florida State College men's golf coach Jamie Howell said. "This is a big kick in the pants. We have a gig tournament coming up at Rollins, It is a deep field and I would love to think this is a springboard to that event."
The McDonough Cup in Orlando will be Oct. 29-30 and the Titans will wrap up the fall season in Alabama at the Central Alabama Community College Fall Invitational Nov. 5-6.
