PONTE VEDRA, FL--The Winthrop men's golf team opened the 2010 spring season with a ninth place finish in the 15-team Jacksonville University Invitational which was played on the famous TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course.
The Eagles fired a 54-hole total score of 944 (318-320-306) over the par 72, 7,122-yard layout to finish sixty-one shots behind tournament champion East Tennessee State (893). ETSU finished seven shots ahead of second place Wake Forest (900) and eight ahead of third place Clemson (901).
Freshman Kamito Hirai (Summerville, SC) led the Eagles as he tied for 11th place with a 10-over par 226 (78-76-72). Wake Forest's Brendan Gielow captured medalist honors after shooting a 2-over par 218.
Winthrop's other scores were as follows: Kyle Bearden, So., tied for 28th at 233 (77-78-78); Cameron Bell, Fr., tied for 46th, 240 (82-81-77); Jordan Sease, So., 66th, 250 (81-90-79); Brandon Truesdale, So., tied for 67th, 251 (85-85-81).
Winthrop's next tournament will be March 7-9 when it competes in the Palmetto Intercollegiate in Aiken, SC.