PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - North Florida men's golf senior
Robbie Higgins had one of the best rounds of his career in a flawless performance to win the individual title at the Sea Best Invitational hosted by Jacksonville on Tuesday afternoon.
This is the second career medalist crown for Higgins and the first since winning the Windon Memorial Classic at Northwestern in 2022. The Bradenton, Fla., native had six birdies on the day with only one bogey occurring on the final hole up by three strokes.
After finishing in either fourth of fifth in all five fall tournaments, the Ospreys broke through this week with a runner-up placement at TPC Sawgrass, only behind reigning national champions, Florida, by three strokes. Gabrelcik joined Higgins with an incredible final round, as he cashed in on another top-three individual finish for UNF.
COURSE REPORT
TPC at Sawgrass - Dye's Valley Course (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
Par 70 | 6,790 Yards
Tuesday, Jan. 30 | 18 holes
SCORECARD (Osprey lineup)
2 - North Florida | 5-over 845 (288-281-276)
1.
Robbie Higgins | 5-under 205 (69-71-65)
3.
Nick Gabrelcik | 2-under 208 (74-65-69)
T21.
Andrew Riley | 6-over 216 (73-72-71)
T21.
Jason Duff | 6-over 216 (72-73-71)
T55.
Davis Lee | 13-over 223 (76-74-73)
T28.
Filippo Serra (Ind.) | 8-over 218 (76-72-70)
TEAM STANDINGS: 15 Teams
Florida (2-over),
North Florida (5-over), Louisville (18-over), Cal Poly (23-over), FGCU (25-over), UTSA (26-over), Lipscomb (29-over), Kennesaw State (32-over), Louisiana Tech (33-over), Campbell (36-over), Liberty (39-over), Florida Atlantic (46-over), UCF (51-over), Jacksonville (52-over), USC Upstate (63-over)
ROUND REFLECTIONS
- Higgins had three birdies on each side, including three straight from holes 5-7 and back-to-back on the 13th and 14th holes.
- He finished with a pair of rounds under par to earn an combined 5-under 205 tournament score.
- The senior, who is ranked No. 44 in the PGA Tour U collegiate men's rankings, will likely move up after his first collegiate win of the year.
- Gabrelcik joined Higgins with a strong round as well with five birdies to finish 2-under 208 combined and sole possession of third overall.
- The duo finished in the top four of the par-four average standings with Higgins at 3-under and Gabrelcik at 2-under.
- They also finished top three together in total birdies combining for 28 as the top pair for UNF.
- The Trinity, Fla., native also led the pack in par-five average at 5-under, while Filippo Serra and Jason Duff joined him in the top 10 at 3-under.
- Andrew Riley stayed consistent for the Ospreys with a pair of birdies early on each side to compete his week at 6-over 216.
- Duff matched Riley's overall score with his best round of the tourney with a 1-under score over his last six holes.
- Davis Lee turned in early back-to-back birdies on the first two holes and finished the back nine strong, as he carded the seventh-most pars in the field with 37 total.
- Serra competed well as an individual with an even-par 70 final round to finish tied for 28th overall.
- The redshirt freshman, along with Higgins, each had top-10 marks in par-three average at 1-under, while also being top-10 for birdies as well with 11 total.
- The Ospreys received their best placement of the season so far with four players in the top 21 of the player's leaderboard.
- UNF made necessary improvements on par-three holes to finish with the best average (7-over), followed with top-two marks for par-four (24-over) and par-five (13-under) holes.
- They also earned the most birdies overall with 47 total and was sixth in pars with 168 total.
STATEMENT FROM SCHROEDER
UP NEXT
North Florida have just under two weeks to prepare for another tournament outside the continental United States with the Puerto Rico Invitational on deck hosted by Purdue from Feb. 11-13 in Rio Grande, P.R.
