DeLand, Fla. - Sophomore Sam Ryder (Longwood, Fla.) shot four under par 68, the low round of the day, in Tuesday's Stetson/CFSC Invitational final round to move up to a tie for second place finish at five under par, one stroke behind winner Patrick Williams of Florida Gulf Coast. The Stetson men's golf team slipped to 19 over par and fourth place in the final team standings; FGCU set a tournament record with a 13 under par 851 and won by 23 strokes at Victoria Hills Golf Club.
Ryder and Ben Silverman (Florida Atlantic) were two of only three golfers in the field to break 70 in the final round, joining Bethune-Cookman's Willie Mack at -5 just behind Williams. Alex Medinis (FGCU) took fifth place at four under par.
Senior Dave McAndrew (Barrington, R.I.) shot 75 on Tuesday and finished tied for 11th at four over par; the other three Hatters had trouble scoring as redshirt freshman Micah Jacobsen (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) shot 77, junior Gabe Costa (Tequesta, Fla.) had an 80 and freshman Adam Kipi (Oviedo, Fla.) carded an 82. Costa finished +9 with Jacobsen at +13 and Kipi +21.
FGCU raced away to its Stetson Invitational record score 23 strokes ahead of Florida Atlantic (+10). Murray State finished 14 over par, five shots better than fourth-place Stetson. USC Upstate (+27), Rollins (+33), Jacksonville (+43), Lipscomb (+48) and Bethune-Cookman (+54) rounded out the field.
The tournament marked the end of Stetson's fall season, a successful three months that saw the Hatters win their opening event (the Elon Sea Trail Intercollegiate) and place in the top five in all five tournaments. Ryder shot par or better 12 times in 15 rounds.
