PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - North Florida men's golf defended its home course after edging Charlotte out by one stroke to stand victorious at The Hayt on Monday afternoon. This is the program's first win at The Hayt since 2017 and their fifth title since the tournament started in 1992.
The Ospreys took a one-stroke lead heading to the 18th hole with Charlotte creeping up on first place.
Robbie Higgins came in the clutch with a long chip that sat within inches of the pin to all but secure the title for the Ospreys at Sawgrass Country Club.
Nick Gabrelcik carded his second round under par on the weekend to earn a share of the individual title with LSU's Drew Doyle. He won his second consecutive medalist crown at The Hayt and has placed first in all four tournaments hosted on the First Coast.
COURSE REPORT
- Sawgrass Country Club (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
- Par 72 | 6,966 yards
- Monday, Mar. 28 | 18 holes
- RESULTS: Golfstat Live Stats Link
SCORECARD
1 - North Florida | 4-under 860 (276-296-288)
T1.
Nick Gabrelcik | 6-under 210 (67-73-70)
3.
Robbie Higgins | 5-under 211 (67-72-72)
T30.
Cody Carroll | 5-over 221 (74-74-73)
T30.
Davis Lee | 5-over 221 (68-79-74)
T47.
Jason Duff | 9-over 225 (75-77-73)
T38.
Brandon Mancheno (Ind.) | 6-over 222 (79-69-74)
T67.
Cooper Smith (Ind.) | 14-over 230 (80-77-73)
T75.
Grant Sutliff (Ind.) | 18-over 234 (76-82-76)
83.
Lance Yates (Ind.) | 24-over 240 (82-83-75)
TEAM STANDINGS: 15 Teams
#33 North Florida (4-under), #40 Charlotte (3-under), #49 Florida Gulf Coast (4-over), #45 Liberty (8-over), #20 Tennessee (13-over), #37 Louisville (15-over), #19 LSU (18-over), #48 Georgia Southern (19-over), #94 Arkansas State (25-over), #70 UCF (28-over), #41 UAB (29-over), #90 Jacksonville (30-over), #81 North Texas (31-over), Coastal Carolina (34-over), Navy (108-over)
ROUND REFLECTIONS
- Gabrelcik continues to rack up the accolades this season with his sixth top-10 finish, his fifth tournament under par and his second medalist crown.
- He is also the sixth individual title winner for the Ospreys at The Hayt and only the second UNF golfer to go back-to-back since David Bennett in 2000-01.
- Higgins made the title-clinching chip and putt on the final hole to finish his weekend in third-place at 5-under 211, which matches his career-best round of 54.
- His top-three placement is the best finish of his career, as well as the second time this season that he's placed in the top 10.
- It is the fifth time in the history of The Hayt that UNF had two golfers place within the top-three spots.
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Cody Carroll stepped up in the final round for the Ospreys with two birdies in the back nine to finish the day 1-over 73 and placed 30th at 5-over combined.
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Davis Lee joins Carroll tied for 30th after his final round of 2-over 74 to finish his weekend at 5-over 221 as well.
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Jason Duff had a solid final round of the tournament to wrap up the Osprey group with his score of 9-over 225 to stay within the top 50.
- The unattached individuals for the Ospreys were led by
Brandon Mancheno once again, as he notched another low round of 2-over 74 to tie for 38th at 6-over combined.
CLUBHOUSE CHATTER
UP NEXT
North Florida will travel to Georgia to play in the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational hosted by Augusta starting on Saturday, Apr. 2.
