Men's Golf Paces Field After First Day at ASUN Championship

Sunday, April 24

Athens, Ga.

All Day

University of North Florida

ASUN Championship

Photo by: ASUN Photos

4/24/2022 6:00:00 PM | Men's Golf

Photo Gallery

Robbie Higgins Ahead By Four Strokes Through First Round

ATHENS, Ga. - No. 39 North Florida men's golf played one of its best rounds of the season to pace the field with a score of 4-under 280 after the first round of the ASUN Championship on Sunday afternoon.

The Ospreys finished the day with a 10-stroke lead ahead of Lipscomb, who sits at 6-over through the first round. The two ranked teams in the conference tournament are currently outside the top three with No. 53 FGCU at 9-over and No. 36 Liberty at 10-over.

Robbie Higgins played a career-best round of 5-under 66 with five birdies while finishing every hole at par or better to take a four-stroke lead at the ASUN Championship. Cody Carroll, who is playing in his fourth ASUN Championship, had a great round as well at 1-under 70 to sit tied for second.

COURSE REPORT

University of Georgia Golf Course (Athens, Ga.)
Par 71 | 7,258 yards
Sunday, Apr. 24 | 18 holes
RESULTS: Golfstat Live Stats Link

SCORECARD

TEAM STANDINGS: 12 Teams

#39 North Florida (4-under), Lipscomb (6-over), Jacksonville State (8-over), #53 Florida Gulf Coast (9-over), #36 Liberty (10-over), North Alabama (12-over), Eastern Kentucky (14-over), Jacksonville (17-over), Kennesaw State (18-over), Central Arkansas (23-over), Bellarmine (25-over), Stetson (28-over)

ROUND REFLECTIONS

- Higgins went back-to-back birdies twice to help him reach the best 18-hole score of his career at 66 on his way to leading the field by four strokes.
- He notched the best scores on par-four holes at 3-under and the second-best par-three score at 1-under, while also having the most birdies at five total and the fourth-most pars at 13 total.
- Carroll returned to form with his first-round score of 1-under 70 to finished the first day tied for second and record his fourth round under par on the season.
- He had the best par-three scores at 2-under, the fifth-best par-four scores at 5-under, and the fifth-most birdies at four total.
- Nick Gabrelcik had a rough start in the front nine with three bogeys, but found his groove with an eagle on the 12th hole to stay within the top 10 carding 1-over 72 tied for seventh.
- He is also the third different Osprey to lead an average score with the top spot for par-five holes at 3-under.
- Davis Lee joined Gabrelcik at 1-over 72, while also having the third-best par-five scores and fifth-best par-four scores, to be the fourth Osprey in the top-seven placements after the first round.
- Jason Duff rounded out the UNF group on day one with a score of 8-over 79 to come sneak into the top 50.
- The Ospreys are the only team after day one to have two players ranked in the top-two spots and to have four players within the top 10.
- UNF is the top team in average par-three (3-over) and par-four (3-over) scores, as well well as total pars (57), while also being second in total birdies (15) and third in average par-five scores (2-under).

Robbie Higgins has a career-best round of 5-under 66 to take a four-stroke lead after the first round of the ASUN Championship!

The Ospreys have four players in the top seven to hold a 10-stroke lead!#SWOOPLife // #BirdiesOfPrey pic.twitter.com/yKawq8Vg2v
— UNF Men's Golf (@OspreyMGolf) April 24, 2022

COACH'S THOUGHTS

"Robbie [Higgins] was our horse today. He played a very solid round of golf that proved to be extremely valuable on a tough course. We like the position we are in and look to continue our strong play."
-- assistant coach Jeff Dennis