Verona, NY – Stetson junior Matt Gauntlett used a six-hole stretch Monday morning at the Turning Stone Resort, posting four birdies and an eagle, turning a five-shot deficit into a one stroke lead en route to earning medalist honors at the first event of the season for the Hatters' men's golf team.
 
Gauntlett finished the 54-hole event tied with Missouri's Jack Lundin at 13-under par 203, but earned medalist honors in a playoff. The native of Watford, England, posted rounds of 67-69-67 to win for the first time at the Division I level and the second time in his collegiate career.
 
"Matt was tremendous out there today in tough conditions," Hatters' head coach Danny Forshey. "It was wet and dreary, so just like the conditions we have had to play in at home for the last two weeks. When he gets into a zone, he can really put up some low numbers. I think this is just the starting point for him."
 
Gauntlett posted 15 birdies and two eagles over the course of the tournament. He finished the tournament eight-under par on the par fours and six-under on the par fives.
 
"I was playing with a lot of confidence going into this tournament because the course reminds me so much of the ones back home," Gauntlett said. "Playing in the rain today didn't bother me because it is something I am used to. It just takes some preparation to make sure you have everything you will need."
 
Gauntlett had hot stretches in each of the three rounds of the tournament. He had a four-under par run over four holes in the opening round, a five-under par stretch over seven holes in the second round and then the six-under stretch over six holes on Monday.
 
"I know that I have to hit good shots to give myself a chance to score well," Gauntlett said. "I just stay focused on one shot at a time and make the best shot I can with each swing. If you do that, you can get on a good run pretty fast."
 
As a team, the Hatters finished second in the 11-team tournament, finishing 12 shots in front of the next closest team on the leader board. Stetson finished 24 shots in front of Boston College and 40 in front of Louisiana, teams from the ACC and Sun Belt Conference that are usually in contention for post-season play.
 
"I am proud of the way our guys fought, but we fell too far behind on the first day," Forshey said. "Our goal is to win every tournament we play in, and we are disappointed that we didn't do that here."
 
Stetson was the only team in the tournament to post an under-par team score in each of the three rounds on the Kaluhyat Course, posting the low round of the day on Monday.
 
"This class was put together to win, and that is what we are going to do," Forshey said. "We are just looking for opportunities to prove that we have one of the best teams in the country."
 
Besides Gauntlett, the Hatters had two other players finish just outside the top 10 in the tournament. Cameron Henry, a graduate transfer from USC, and redshirt junior Mason Quagliata, who played as an individual, tied for 12^th. Both had final round scores of 76 to leave them at four-over par for the tournament.
 
Junior John Houchin, who had consecutive even par rounds on Sunday, finished with a 75 on Monday to tie for 16^th. Junior Javier Calles Roman moved up 10 spots on the leaderboard on Monday, and sophomore Truman Keppy moved up 11 spots, both posting an even par 72 in the final round.
 
"There is a lot of positivity on this team right now," Gauntlett said. "We know how good we can be if we play our best. We are excited about going back out and competing again next week. We are going to have a chip on our shoulders because we didn't win this tournament when we get there to play next weekend."
 
The Hatters will be back in action next week at the Allstate Streamsong Invitational on the Blue Course at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Fla., north of Wachula. That event, which is being hosted by ASUN rival Lipscomb. Some of the teams expected to play in the tournament include Winthrop, North Alabama and USC Upstate.
 
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