DADE CITY â€" Led by Shelton Smith’s three-under par 69, Florida Southern shot four-under par as a team on Sunday, and moved up five spots in the final standings of the 2011 University of South Florida Invitational.
The Moccasins’ score of 284 was topped by only Florida State in the final round, and allowed them to finish in 14th place out of the 21 teams competing. Florida Southern was the only Division II school in the tournament, which was won by Middle Tennessee State with a three-round score of 838 (-26). Florida State, which was one stroke better than Florida Southern on Sunday with a 283, finished in second place at 857 (-7); Florida Gulf Coast was third with an even par 864.
The Mocs’ Sunday round was also one of the best of the entire 3-day tournament. MTSU had a better score in both the first and second rounds (274 and 277), and Florida State had better second- and third-round scores, but only North Texas and Villanova had better scores in any other round throughout the tournament.
Florida Southern had a 3-day total of 889 (+25), and after shooting a 303 on Friday and a 302 on Saturday, rebounded in a big way with its best round of the season. Smith was the big gun on Sunday with a season’s best round as well. The senior parred his first two holes of the day (the par four #18 and #1), then dropped in three straight birdies on holes of par-five, four and three. He finished with six birdies in the round.
Jude Eustaquio shot a 70 on Sunday, his second straight under-par round, and Tim Crouch fired a 71. Pat Gocklin was the Mocs’ fourth counter with a 74, while Spencer Baldwin shot a 76. Gocklin parred all but two holes, and Eustaquio had a par or birdie on all but two.
Eustaquio tied for 13th individually with a two-under par 214, nine strokes behind the winner, Hunter Green of Middle Tennessee State. Green led from start to finish with scores of 67-67-71 = 205. The Blue Raiders had four of the tournament’s top 12 golfers, with all of them shooting -3 or better.
Crouch tied for 35th with a 220, and Smith tied for 76th with a 229. Gocklin and Baldwin finished with a 232 and 233 respectively.
Florida Southern’s next tournament will be March 14 and 15 in Valdosta, Georgia at the Southeastern Collegiate.
