ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. (February 2, 2025) – The University of North Alabama men’s golf team heads to Atlantic Beach, Fla. on Feb. 3-4 for the Sea Best Invitational, hosted by Jacksonville University at Atlantic Beach Country Club. This is the start of the championship season for UNA Men’s Golf and is following the best fall semester in Division I program history.  

Tournament Information

Sea Best Invitational hosted by Jacksonville

Atlantic Beach Country Club

Atlantic Beach, Fla.

36 Holes on Monday, Feb. 3

18 Holes on Tuesday, Feb. 4

Live Stats

NOTES 

LAST TIME OUT: Last October, the University of North Alabama men’s golf team brought home an impressive second place in the FAU Golf Invitational in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The Lions finished all four of their fall tournaments with a win or runner-up. This tournament solidified the best fall or spring season for tournament placements during UNA’s Division I era with two wins and two second place finishes. Since 1989, there has only been one better season, which came in Fall 2010. That fall, the Lions combined for a 54-1 record with four straight tournament wins before finalizing with a second-place spot in the Division II Preview Tournament in Muscle Shoals. North Alabama holds onto second-place by a stroke over Abilene Christian, who only trailed first-place USF for the best third-round stroke score with a 282. The Lions finish the day with a 294 scorecard as a team while they close the tournament at an 872 overall. USF, who is nationally-ranked at No. 26, finished with an 852-stroke score.

THRILLING THREE: During the 2024 fall season, the Lions boasted three golfers that combined to win four ASUN Golfer of the Week awards. Junior Xing Luo won the initial award for the Lions following the GMAC Invitational where he shot 16-under. After Luo follows sophomore Andrew Ferworn, who won two consecutive ASUN Golfer of the Week awards. He won back-to-back individual crowns in the Cullan Brown Collegiate and the Turtle Point Invite helping him secure the awards. Finally, junior Sebastian Bengtsson won the final ASUN Golfer of the Week award for the Lions after their final tournament of the season. This was Bengtsson’s first career award at the time and came after carrying the Lions back into second place at the FAU Invitational, only behind nationally-ranked South Florida. 

 

THE BREAKDOWN: Jacksonville is the host school for the tournament, where a total of 13 teams will compete. North Alabama tees off on Feb. 3 starting at 8 a.m. by way of a shotgun start. The course is a par 71 and spans 6,815 yards. 

 

THE FIELD: A total of 13 teams will participate in this tournament. Members of the Atlantic Sun Conference will join UNA, including host school Jacksonville, FGCU, Lipscomb and Queens. Outside of UNCW, Florida and Texas A&M, UNA faced every other school in the field at least once this past fall. The rest of the field includes Kennesaw State, FAU, Louisiana Tech, UCF and USC Upstate.

 

HIGHEST RANKED: According to available records, the Lions secured their highest ranking to date during the 2024 fall season. The Lions finished 78th in the national polls provided by Scoreboard powered by Clippd. There are 308 teams competing in men’s golf across college athletics. North Alabama was the only team to record only two losses outside of Ole Miss, who ranked first in the country. The Lions notch a few solid rankings as well with Ferworn climbing to No. 135 nationally, while Luo nestles in at No. 202. Bengtsson finishes at No. 430 for the final Lion inside the top-450 golfers in the nation. The player rankings clear over 2,000 total players.

Starting Lineup:

TEAM

1. Xing ‘Eric’ Luo — Jr. — Katy, Texas

2. Corey Maher — Jr. — Frisco, Texas

3. Sebastian Bengtsson — Jr. — Helsingborg, Sweden

4. Blake Henriques — Jr. — Canton, Ga.

5. Andrew Ferworn — So. — Houston, Texas

Next Match: Following the Sea Best Invitational, North Alabama travels to the Seminole Intercollegiate in Thomasville, Ga. at Glen Arvey Country Club on Monday, March 10.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.