Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ? Stetson senior Tommy Parker (Palm Beach, Fla.) got his final semester of college men's golf off to its best possible start with a five-stroke victory in the season-opening Jacksonville Invitational at the TPC Sawgrass Valley Course on Tuesday.  Parker's five under par 67 today, the second-lowest 18-hole score in program history, tied for the low round of the tournament and enabled him to finish -4 for the 54-hole tournament.  Unfortunately, the Hatters slipped from second place after 36 holes to finish fourth of 10 squads with a +38 team score.

Parker did most of his damage today on the front nine, racking up three straight birdies to close out the front nine and going out in four under par 32.  He recovered nicely from a 10^th hole bogey with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 to seal his first collegiate tournament title.  He tied with junior Dave McAndrew (Barrington, R.I.) for the lead at the Bethune-Cookman Invitational last fall but fell to his Hatter teammate in a playoff.  Parker became the sixth Hatter men's golfer to shoot 67 in competition, one shot off the record set by Dray Summers in March 1993.

Parker's victory came against a strong opening field that included 33^rd-ranked team tournament champion Lamar and 62^nd-ranked runner-up Kentucky.  UK's Andy Winings, the nation's #91 player in the GolfWeek rankings, took home second place at +1 while Lamar's Justin Harding, ranked 72^nd, placed third at +2.  Other top 100 golfers that Parker bested included Lamar's Leroux Ferriera (#31) and Hugues Joannes (#57) along with Kentucky's Ben Fuqua (#45).  Ferriera is ranked fourth in the nation among golfers from non-BCS programs.

McAndrew shot 81 today to fall from a tie for the 36-hole lead to finish tied for 12^th at +9 with sophomore Gabe Costa (Tequesta, Fla.).  Costa shot Stetson's second-best final round score, a four over par 76.  Sophomore Michael Stewart (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) and junior Michael Bain (Orlando, Fla.) each carded 81 as well; Stewart ended up 24 over par in a tie for 35^th place while Bain tied for 42^nd at +27.  55 golfers competed overall in the JU Invitational.

Lamar held off hard-charging Kentucky down the stretch to finish +25 and nip the Wildcats by one stroke.  Tournament hosts Jacksonville closed hard and passed the Hatters into third place at +33.  Rounding out the field behind Stetson was Jacksonville State (+55), Florida Atlantic (+64), Charleston Southern (+67), Bethune-Cookman (+77), Loyola [Md.] (+99) and USC Upstate (+102).

Although the Hatters saw their streak of top three finishes end at four in a row, Stetson did manage to place in the top five at a tournament for the fifth consecutive outing out of six in the 2008-09 season.  The team returns to action March 2-3 for the Lonnie D. Small Spring Classic, hosted at Keith Hills GC in Buies Creek, N.C. by A-Sun rivals Campbell.