In the final tournament of the fall season, the Lee University men’s golf team took home a victory at the Barry University Invitational on Tuesday afternoon while junior golfer Drew Zielinski took home the individual title as well. Zielinski tied the school record shooting a 202 over the three rounds to earn the win by two strokes.
It was a breakout tournament for Zielinski as he shot a 202. He tied Oliver Lewis-Perkins for the lowest stroke score over 54 holes by a Flame. Lewis-Perkins set the record last season at the Argo Invitational last October.
Zielinski shot 68-65-69 over the three rounds.
Bennett McNabb completed a strong fall with a ninth-place finish. He shot a 210 (71-68-71) over the three rounds.
Three Flames came in tied for 30th in the tournament. Luke Stock recovered after a tough first two rounds with a 66 in round three. His 218 (75-77-66) was equal to George Cordall (74-72-72) and Caleb Tipton (72-70-76).
Freshman Matthew Render competed as an individual and came in 53rd with a 231 (72-78-81).
As a team, Lee had the best final round shooting a six under 278 which was six better than any other team. Lee shot an 838 over the three rounds to take the title. The Flames struggled out of the gate as they were in fifth place but then rallied in round two shooting nine under as a team before pulling out the victory in round three.
Host Barry University came in second four strokes back with an 842. Nova Southeastern University was third with an 844. Valdosta State University and Flagler College rounded out the top five.
Coach Evan Spence’s Thoughts:
“First and foremost couldn’t be more proud of or excited for Drew grabbing his first individual title for us. He’s so talented and is just an absolute grinder. I don’t think he always realizes how good he truly is but I’m hopeful that this week will go a long way in showing him that.”
“As a team, super proud of our resiliency this week. Got off to about as bad of a start as possible yesterday morning. We were seven over par and 14 shots out of the lead after about 12 holes in the first round. Even so, the guys never flinched. Just kept their heads down and kept plugging away. Pulled it back to within 7 shots of the lead by the end of the second round and gave ourselves a chance coming into today. When you can make as many birdies as these guys can you’re never really out of it. Fortunately we were able to put another really solid final round effort together today and cap off the fall season with an exclamation point!”