Men's golf team places third in NJCAA national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's golf team battled through wind, rain and a tough Buffalo Dunes Golf Course to place third in the NJCAA Division I Men's Golf National Championship Tournament in Garden City, Kansas.

The Titans knew they would have to play well to have a shot at the title and they did just that, posting the low score of the day – 2-over par 290 as a group.

"They played hard. It was a tough day and they played as hard as the conditions, you can't ask for more than that," Eastern Florida State College men's golf coach Jamie Howell said.

The rains came shortly after the Titans teed off and lasted most of the front nine, but the team made the turn at 5-over and then as the rain stopped and the wind picked up, so did the Titans golf games.

Mathieu Echelard and Ryan Rozic each went 2-under par on the back nine while Fraser Davren finished one under.

Echelard recorded the team's only eagle of the tournament, scoring a three on the 515-yard par 5 13^th hole. Rozic birdied 10, 11, 15 and 16 before the 17^th green caused him trouble. The freshman finished tied for 30^th.

Davren had birdies on 13 and 16 to finish 1-over for the day and 291 for the tournament, good for fourth place.

"It was a good week, got off to a slow start and was frustrated but the last three days I have played pretty solid. Those last four holes on Tuesday really kickstarted my week," said Davren, who birdied the final four holes on Tuesday and finished 5-under for the tournament on those holes.

Brad Bawden finished the tournament in seventh place, shooting a 292 for the week. The sophomore shot a 74 in his final round as a Titan. Echelard placed eighth overall after his 71 on the final day and all three were named All-Americans for their performance.

Sophomore Tyler Bennett placed in a tie for 25^th after his final round 1-over performance. All five Titans placed in the top 30 overall individually.

"In the grand scheme of things, we didn't show up to finish third but they fought as hard as they could and I am proud of that," Howell said.

Davren concurred with his coach.

"We are happy with third place but make no secret that we are disappointed at the same time. We worked hard all season for this and we gave it our best shot," Davren said.