LAKE WORTH, Fla. – The Towson University men's golf team had a strong first day at the Southern Invitational, wrapping up play in fourth place after rounds of 290 and 288 for a combined score of 578 (+10). Three Tigers sit in the top 25 individually. The Black & Gold tallied the second-highest amount of pars and third-highest number of birdies, earning 119 and 23 respectively.
Florida Atlantic University sits atop the eight-team field, posting scores of 274 and 280 to finish day one 14-under par. The Owls have five players in the top 10, including Max Sturdza, who is currently ranked first out of 48 with scores of 64 and 70. St. John's claimed the second-place spot after shooting 276 and 284, wrapping up the first two rounds 8-under par. Binghamton rounds out the podium in third with a day one score of 577 (+9), only one stroke ahead of the Tigers.
The average scores for the first and second rounds of the tournament were 74.81 and 74.77, respectively.
Michael Matheson was the top performer for the Tigers' first two rounds, as he currently sits in sixth place at 2-under par after carding a 71 and 69. During the first round, the freshman offset two bogeys with two birdies and parred the remaining 14 holes. For his final round of the day, Matheson recorded four more birdies to make up for a double bogey, adding 13 more pars to his scorecard to shoot under 70 for the first time in his collegiate career. The freshman has the third-highest number of pars in the tournament, totaling 27 across 36 holes. He ranks tied for first with his par 3 average of 2.75 (-2).
Brad Riley shot an even-par 71 for his first round, collecting three birdies total, two of which were back-to-back on No.8 and 9. He completed the day with a 72 for his final 18, adding four more birdies, one of which was on hole eight again. The fifth-year finished play tied for 12
th.
Sky Aung had rounds of 72 and 75 to wrap up day one of play tied for 21
st at 5-over par. The freshman found most success during round two where he recorded 16 pars across 18 holes, offsetting a bogey with a birdie.
Ariihau Faana shot 76 and 72 to wrap up the day in 24
th place. During his final 18, he parred 17 of the 18 holes which helped him drop four strokes in between rounds. He currently has the most number of pars out of all players in the tournament, recording 30 throughout two rounds.
Jai Sheth (individual) carded a 73 and 76 to finish right behind Faana in 25
th place. Sheth had the lowest score on the team for the back nine of the first round as she shot 2-under par 34 supported by two birdies and seven pars.
Josh Galindo rounded out the squad after shooting 78 and 75. He tallied seven birdies total for the day.
The third and final round of the tournament begins tomorrow at 7:40 a.m. with Josh Galindo. The remaining five Tigers tee off on 10 minute intervals.
Day One Results
