Men's golf team wins Titan Invitational

The Eastern Florida State College men's golf team hoisted the Titan Invitational trophy, beating 12 other teams to claim the title for the eighth time in 17 years.

The Titans shot 289 as a team for the second straight round, winning the tournament by six strokes. Central Alabama shot a 285 to finish second in the tournament.

"We went into this not really playing well, been working real and doing the right things but the weather had been crummy. But I knew if it warmed up, their games would too," Eastern Florida State College men's golf coach Jamie Howell said. "They put in all the work and to get the results to come out at the right time is hard to do, but when it does, it is nice to see them enjoy it."

Sophomore Beck Fox shot an even-par 72 in the final round to place second overall in the tournament with a score of 213. Teammate Ben Ramos was even par for the tournament, shooting 72 in each of the three rounds and was fourth overall.

Freshman Thomas Matthews shot a 71 on Tuesday and finished at 218 for the tournament, good for a seventh-place tie. Sean McGinty also finished tied for seventh.

"They are good, wthout sounding more forward than I already do. Beck Fox is rock solid, Tom Matthews is one of the best amateur players in Great Britain. Ben Ramos is just coming into his own. Sean McGinty is one to watch as well. They are a good bunch, I've also got two guys who were sick this week – Josh Stern and Chandler Dixon. We are well balanced and I have good depth at five and six and good leadership up top. It's been a while since we have been this deep."

Central Alabama's Caleb O'Toole won the individual title, shooting a 72 in the final round and finished at 211 for the tournament.

Keiser University shot 2-under as a team Tuesday and finished in third place.

Eastern Florida State College will travel to the Coastal Alabama Spring Invitational Feb. 16-17 in Fairhope, Alabama.

"We will feed off this, but we have to get ready for a whole different set of conditions, elevation changes, different grass and weather could be anything," Howell said. "We don't have too long to revel in it but the guys will enjoy this a bit. It is a marvelous way to start."