Daytona Beach, Fla. ? Dave McAndrew tied for the individual title to lead the Stetson men's golf team to a second-place showing at its first tournament of the spring season, the Bethune-Cookman Invitational, this weekend at Indigo Lakes Country Club. McAndrew and the Hatters held the individual and team leads after Round 1 of the 36-hole event.
McAndrew, a sophomore from Barrington, R.I., attacked the 6,772-yard, par-72 layout at Indigo Lakes in Saturday's opening round to the tune of a five under-par 67, giving him a one-stroke lead over Carl Corbin of host Bethune-Cookman. McAndrew wasn't able to as low on Sunday, but shot an even-par round of 72 to finish the tournament at five under par. Kyle Hammond of Atlantic Sun rival Florida Gulf Coast reversed McAndrew's performance, opening with 72 before closing with a 67 on Sunday, the low round of the day, to tie in the field of 64 players. No playoff was held due to time constraints. Corbin and Kyle Henderson (FGCU) tied for third place two shots behind McAndrew and Hammond.
As a team, the Hatters placed three golfers in the top five and ties en route to a second place finish at 571 (-5), three strokes behind FGCU. Stetson had the lead after the opening round at five under par but was not able to go any lower on Sunday; the Eagles, on the other hand, blistered the golf course with a seven under-par 281 performance in Round 2 to claim the win.
Freshman Michael Stewart (Edgewater, Fla./New Smyrna Beach HS) shot 72-70-142 (-2) to tie for fifth place overall with classmate Gabe Costa (Tequesta, Fla.), who recorded consecutive rounds of one-under 71. Junior Tommy Parker (Palm Beach, Fla.) tied for 14th place at 148 (+4) and senior Steven Neidermire (Medfield, Mass.) tied for 32nd at 12 over par.
The Hatters finished six shots ahead of third-place Bethune-Cookman. St. John's (+15) and Florida A&M (+28) finished a distant fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 12-team field.
Stetson tees it up next at the Hargrove B. Davis Spring Classic, March 3-4 at Keith Hills Golf Club in Buies Creek, N.C. The event will be hosted by Atlantic Sun conference member Campbell.
