Men's golf team places eighth in national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's golf team finished eighth in the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament at The Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas.

It is the fourth straight season that the Titans have placed in the top 10 in the national tournament and fifth time in past six years.

"It was a struggle all week, it is a terrific golf course and while it isn't overly demanding off the tee, you have to put your tee shot in the right place because it is a second shot and putting contest out here. Big greens, big slopes and we just struggled with that," Eastern Florida State College men's golf coach Jamie Howell said.

Sophomore Fraser Davren birdied the 18^th hole to finish even par in the final round and 1-over par 292 for the tournament, good for 16^th place. Davren was one of the best players in the tournament on the par 5s, going 10-under for the tournament on the four holes.

Before the tournament began Davren was named to the PING Division I All-American honorable mention team.

Teammate and sophomore Ryan Rozic had a tough final round but finished the tournament 4-over 292 and was tied for 22nd overall.

"All year Ryan Rozic was steady, he was always there," Howell said. "Today's round will be disappointing for him but he has had a good season."

Kyle Decenzo had his best round of the tournament on Friday, shooting 2-over par 74 and freshman Beck Fox birdied the 18^th hole to finish 2-over par 74 and placed in a tie for 33rd place overall.

The Titans shot 296 as a team Friday and finished 26-over par for the tournament. As a team, the Titans had four eagles and were 30-under on the four par-5 holes which was fourth-best in the tournament.

"We have had a lot of ups and downs, had some really good moments, won the District Preview in the fall, won the Coastal Alabama event and were competitive in some bigger events," Howell said. "Every season is different and there were some really good times and others that I think we could have done a bit better."

Indian Hills Community College won the national title, shooting 21-under for the tournament.