LAHAINA, Hawaii - Robbie Higgins paced the North Florida men's golf team on its first day in Hawaii with an 8-under 63 round, giving the Ospreys a share of seventh as a team through the opening round of the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate on Thursday afternoon.

The two-time First Team All-ASUN selection was one stroke shy of matching Nick Gabrelcik's 18-hole program record of 62 that was set earlier this season. He recorded eight total birdies, including four straight, with no holes worse than par.

COURSE REPORT

Ka'anapali Golf Course (Lahaina, Haw.)
Par 71 | 6,700 Yards
Thursday, Oct. 26 | 18 holes
RESULTS: Golfstat Live Stats Link

SCORECARD (Osprey lineup)

T7 - North Florida | 8-under 276
1. Robbie Higgins | 8-under 63
T27. Nick Gabrelcik | 2-under 69
T56. Jason Duff | Even-par 71
T80. Andrew Riley | 2-over 73
T106. Chase Carroll | 5-over 76

TEAM STANDINGS: 20 Teams

Liberty (22-under), Georgia (18-under), San Jose State (15-under), East Tennessee State (12-under), Oklahoma (12-under), Hawaii (11-under), Sacramento State (8-under), North Florida (8-under), Boise State (7-under), UConn (4-under), Louisiana Lafayette (4-under), Kansas (4-under), Wyoming (Even-par), Gonzaga (1-over), Colorado (4-over), CSUN (4-over), Denver (4-over), Clemson (4-over), Mount St. Mary's (6-over), Air Force (7-over)

ROUND REFLECTIONS

• Higgins found his groove in the final nine holes to close his first round with six birdies, including four straight, to end up with 8-under 63.
• He had four birdies on both the front and back nine of the course and recorded par on the rest of the holes.
• The senior has the second-best scoring average for both par-four (4-under) and par-five holes (3-under), while also being one short of being the birdie leader with eight total.
• Gabrelcik placed himself just outside the top 25 through one round with 14 pars and three birdies with a score of 2-under 69.
• He holds a share of the most pars through the first 18 holes with 14 total on Thursday.
• Jason Duff fought off adversity on the back nine to finish his opening round at even-par 71.
• The redshirt junior had the next best mark for birdies behind Higgins with five total, including back-to-back to end his round.
• Andrew Riley scored seven pars and a birdie on the back nine of the course to complete his day at 2-over 73.
• Chase Carroll rounded out the first day of play for the Ospreys at 5-over 76 to start the weekend in Hawaii.
• UNF has the third-best par-four scoring average at 4-under, while also being fifth among the field in birdies with 21 total.

COACH'S THOUGHTS

"Great round today by Robbie [Higgins]. He just needs to keep doing his thing. The bottom three guys played really poorly today and in this field it is unacceptable. They need to bounce back tomorrow."
-- head coach Scott Schroeder

UP NEXT

North Florida continues its three-day event in Hawaii with the second round of the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate on Friday, Oct. 27.