North Florida’s Byun Leads Ospreys To John Hayt Collegiate Invitational Title

Sunday, February 28

Sawgrass Country Club (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)

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University of North Florida

John Hayt Collegiate Invitational

North Florida’s Byun Leads Ospreys To John Hayt Collegiate Invitational Title

3/2/2010 6:42:12 PM | Men's Golf

Byun shoots 4-under for four stroke win

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida golf team, led by individual medalist Joe Byun, withstood harsh, final-round weather conditions and a surging Duke squad before pulling away for a 12-stroke victory at the 19th Annual John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at.Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

It was just the second team victory for UNF in the 19-year history of the tournament, and the first since the tournament was moved to the Sawgrass CC in 2000. The Ospreys also captured the team title in 1994, beating Florida by four strokes.

Byun became just the second UNF golfer to win the individual title, matching tournament titles won by David Bennett in 2000 and 2001.

Leading Duke by three strokes heading into the third and final round at the par-72, 6,895 Oceanside course, the Ospreys would lose the lead midway through the round before regrouping and playing excellent golf over the final nine holes while the Blue Devils struggled before finishing third, 13 strokes behind UNF.

North Florida, ranked 28th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings index, finished at 12-over-par for the tournament (288-294-294=876), shooting a final round 294 (+6) and outdistancing defending champion LSU by 12 strokes. LSU shot the best final round of the day at 3-over, ending with an 888 (304-293-291).

The top-ranked team entering the tournament, No. 3 Florida, finished seventh at +35 (310-293-296=899)

Byun, a sophomore from Lake Mary, Fla., followed up a pair of 69-rounds with a solid 2-over 74 in the final round to finish with a 4-under 212 and capture the title by four strokes over three other golfers, including teammate Sean Dale. It was Byun's first career collegiate title, after two top 10 finishes in 2009 as a freshman.

Dale shot a final round 74 and finished with an even-par 216 (72-70-74), finishing tied for second with Coastal Carolina's Dan Obremski and Austin Reeves of Furman. UNF freshman Kevin Phelan also garnered a top 10 finish, finishing tied for 10th after firing a final round 1-under 71 and ending with a 3-over 219 (71-77-71). Phelan was one of just five players to shoot under par in the final round, along with junior teammate Chris Kennedy, who was competing as an individual.

Rounding out the Osprey golfers were senior JC Horne, who finished tied for 48th with a 230 (76-79-75), and sophomore Kevin Aylwin, who ended tied for 61st (76-78-79=233).

In addition to Kennedy, North Florida senior Jordan Gibb and redshirt freshman Joey Marino also competed as individuals, with Gibb finishing tied for 27th at 10-over (76-77-73=226), Kennedy tied for 61st at +17 (88-74-71=233) and Marino tied for 76th at 23-over (82-77-80=239)

Defending individual champion, John Peterson of LSU, finished tied for 38th at +12. The nation's top golfer, Alabama sophomore Bud Cauley, a Jacksonville native, ended tied for 10th at 3-over.

“Winning the John Hayt for the first time since it was moved to Sawgrass is just unbelievably special,” said UNF head coach Scott Schroeder. “It was a total team effort, especially with the conditions today. Every guy played really good those final nine holes, including a great round by freshman Kevin Phelan.”

“What a phenonimal job Joe did today,” said Schroeder. “For him to shoot 4-under on that course under those conditions is just unbelievable. To have his name on that trophy with some of the names that are on there is just tremendous for Joe.”

The full team and player results can be seen at Golfstat.com by clicking on links below.

Final Team Results

Final Individual Results

Final Team and Individual Results

Jacksonville.com article on UNF's victory

Golfweek.com's article on the win for the Ospreys