JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (3/9/2017) -- University of Detroit Mercy men's golf senior
Kyle Gaines was poised and confident from the very first hole and that paid off for the veteran as he won the Bulldog Florida Invitational on Thursday.
Gaines played in the top group today after his 1-under 71 on the opening 18 – where he trailed by one shot – but he climbed to the top with his 2-over 74 to win his first collegiate event by a stroke with a 145 scorecard.
The win was in true comeback style as he eagled the 17th hole and then parred the final one to register the victory.
Senior
Spencer Lendzion tied for eighth with a 150 (73-77), while freshman
Scott Sparks shared 12th with a 152 (77-75).
As a team, the Titans tied for third at the par 72, 6,765-yard Windsor Parke Golf Club with a 604 (298-306) total, trailing only host Butler (596), Evansville (602) and tying with Albany State.
Detroit Mercy will be back in action from March 19-21 as the red, white and blue compete in the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate, held at Sevierville Golf Club in Sevierville, Tennessee.
Here is a recap of the action at the Bulldog Florida Invitational
- The Titans were among the leaders right from the start leading by one stroke after the first round and finishing just eight shots off the lead.
- The opening round 298 was the sixth lowest on the season for Detroit Mercy.
- The win for Kyle Gaines makes it two-straight years that a Titan has won an event as Wil Wittmann captured the Dayton Flyer Fall Invite last season
- The win was also the third title under head coach Luke LaFave '02 as the Titans also won the Dayton Flyer Invite in the fall of 2015.
- Gaines now has nine career top-10 finishes and his highest was placing fourth at the 2014 Dayton Flyer Fall Invite.
- His 145 was just two shots off his career low of 143 at the 2014 Cleveland State Invite.
- Spencer Lendzion's share of eighth was his third career top-10 finish and the best since earning third as a freshman at the Horizon League Championship.
- Freshman Scott Sparks has now posted scores in the 70's in 14 of his 15 rounds on the year.
Head Coach Luke LaFave '02 on the Event:
"It was a good start to the spring all in all. A win would've been nice for the team, but hopefully it makes the guys hungry to get back into position each event this season."
"I am extremely proud of Kyle and was mentally tough the entire 36 holes. He got off to a rough start today, but found a way to hang tough. He eagled his 17th hole and took a one-shot lead to his final hole and got the job done with a par."
"Scotty played well today and gave himself a lot of looks at birdie. His game is rounding into shape."
"Spencer showed great poise and patience as he struggled with his swing today, but managed just 23 putts to grind the round out."
