FLORENCE, Ala. (October 13, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men’s golf team will host its annual Turtle Point Invite this Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 14-15 at Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club in Killen, Ala. 
 
This tournament follows the Cullan Brown Collegiate in Lexington, Ky. where the Lions walked away with an individual medalist in sophomore Andrew Ferworn.  

Tournament Information

Turtle Point Invite hosted by North Alabama

Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club

Killen, Ala.

36 Holes on Monday, Oct. 14

18 Holes on Tuesday, Oct. 15

Live Stats

NOTES 

LAST TIME OUT: The University of North Alabama men’s golf team finished the Cullan Brown Collegiate in Lexington, Ky. on Oct. 8, where the Lions finished second overall behind former ASUN member Kennesaw State. Andrew Ferworn shared the individual crown for the win in Lexington. Lions finished the second round in third place, the first time this season that they have not led a round. Sebastian Bengtsson finished the weekend with a 222 score to tie in the 10th spot. Xing Luo follows at 33 with a 228, while Blake Henriques and junior Corey Maher tie in 61st with a 235 score. KSU led the field with an overall scorecard of 881, which was 14 strokes better than the rest of the field. The Lions edged out the hometown’s A-team — Kentucky — by one stroke for second place with an 895-team score. South Alabama and Toledo tied for fourth to round out the top-five with a score of 897. 

(F)ENOMENAL FERWORN: Ferworn shared the individual win with Kennesaw State’s Claes Borregaard. On a difficult course, Ferworn finished the tournament with a five-over-par 218-stroke score after three rounds. He totaled nine birdies on the weekend while finishing each of the first nine holes under par or even. Ferworn was one of only eight players to shoot par or better in a round, carding a 71 in the second round. Only three golfers carded a 70 to finish one below par on the difficult par-71 course.

 

THE BREAKDOWN: North Alabama is the host school for the tournament, where a total of 14 teams will compete. The Turtle Point Invite tees off on Oct. 14 starting at 8:30 a.m. by way of a shotgun start. The course is a par 72 and spans 7,035 yards at the Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club. 

 

THE FIELD: A total of 14 teams will participate in this tournament. North Alabama splits into an A and B team for this one. Power-four schools such as Vanderbilt, Alabama, Missouri and Auburn will come to Killen, Ala. to compete. Outside of Alabama and Auburn, five more Alabama based schools will journey to the Turtle Point Invite including Alabama A&M, Samford, Montevallo, Wallace State and Jacksonville State. The rest of the field includes Stephen F. Austin, Western Illinois, West Florida and Lincoln Memorial.  

 

CONTINUING EXCELLENCE: The Lions have hosted this tournament for the last three years, where the Lions have won each year. North Alabama placed first of 11, first of 10 and first of 11, respectively, and will look to do so again in 2024. Head coach Austin Phillips invites 14 teams, the most that this Invite has seen in the previous three. Since 2015, the Lions have held this tournament each year, barring the 2020 Covid season when play was suspended. North Alabama won two of those contests while placing top-five in the matches from 2015-19. 

 

WITNESSING HISTORY: After Ferworn won his first-ever ASUN Conference Golfer of the Week award announced Thursday, he created history with junior Xing Luo. Luo won the first ASUN Conference Golfer of the Week award this season after the GMAC Invitational where he placed first overall. Before this season, there have never been two Lion winners in the same fall or spring season since joining the conference in 2018. 

 

HEAVY MEDAL: Tuesday also marked the first time in Division I school history that UNA has had back-to-back individual medalists thanks to Ferworn and Luo. The closest came on Sept. 19-20 at the 2022 Grover Page Classic and the 2022 GMAC Invitational on Sept. 26-27. Former Lion Carter Goodwin posted a 207 score at the Grover Page Classic, best for first, while Andre Jacobs shot a 218 at the GMAC Invitational which boosted him to second place. 

Starting Lineup:

TEAM

1. Xing Luo — Jr. — Katy, Texas

2. Sebastian Bengtsson — Jr. — Helsingborg, Sweden

3. Corey Maher — Jr. — Frisco, Texas 

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

5. Andrew Ferworn — So. — Houston, Texas

INDIVIDUAL

Chase Kaiser — Sr. — Natchez, Miss.

Cory Abbott — Jr. — Houston, Texas

   

Next Match: Following the Turtle Point Invite, North Alabama joins the FAU Golf Invitational in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. at the PGA National (Champion) course on Monday, Oct. 28.

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