PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (October 27, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men’s golf team will finish the fall season at the FAU Golf Invitational this Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 28-29 at PGA National (Champion) course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.  
                   
This tournament follows the Turtle Point Invite just down the road in Killen where the Lions walked away with an individual medalist in sophomore Andrew Ferworn, runner-up in junior Xing Luo and the overall team win for the lowest score at Turtle Point in school history at 25-under-par 839.

Tournament Information

FAU Golf Invitational hosted by Florida Atlantic

PGA National (Champion)

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

36 Holes on Monday, Oct. 28

18 Holes on Tuesday, Oct. 29

Live Stats

NOTES 

LAST TIME OUT: UNA wrapped up its home tournament, the Turtle Point Invite, in Killen, Ala. on Oct. 15. The Lions hoisted the trophy for team tournament winner, individual crown for sophomore Andrew Ferworn and the UNA course record with a 25-under par. This win marks North Alabama’s 11th time winning at Turtle Point, including the sixth time during the Division I era. This also becomes the third-lowest three-round total for the Division I era. For the second and third rounds, North Alabama shot a 17-under par 559 for the third-best back-to-back round total in Division I program history. All five Lions in the lineup finished inside the top-25 of 70 total players. Ferworn took the individual crown at 13-under par. Junior Xing Luo wins runner up after a monstrous third round which saw him shoot seven-under. Junior Corey Maher had his best finish to date — tied for 20th at one-over. Juniors Blake Henriques and Sebastian Bengtsson were one stroke behind tied for 23rd at two-over. 

 

FERWORN IS FORREAL: Ferowrn is coming off an individual crown at the Turtle Point Invite in Killen, Ala. He shot a 13-under par for the tournament with both first rounds having a 66-stroke day that was good for six-under. He carded a 203 that included 14 birdies and one eagle on the tournament. This would have been the best three-round individual tournament finish if it was not for Luo’s 200 scorecard at the GMAC Invitational earlier this season. This is masterful in its own right, but it is coupled with Ferworn winning back-to-back individual crowns as he shared the individual crown at the Cullan Brown Collegiate the tournament before. Ferworn did not have a top-five finish a season ago. Now, he has two first place crowns. 

 

THE BREAKDOWN: Florida Atlantic is the host school for this week’s tournament, where a total of 12 teams will compete. The FAU Golf Invitational tees off on Oct. 28 at 8:30 a.m. by way of a shotgun start. As they compete on the PGA National (Champion) course, the tournament will resemble the PGA Tour with a Par 71 around 7,000 yards and similar hole locations.

 

THE FIELD: Twelve teams will participate in this tournament. The Lions find themselves amongst some familiar teams from this season such as Jacksonville State and UAB, where they have conquered both. Atlantic Sun Conference foes trickle in as Central Arkansas and Stetson make an appearance for this tournament. The rest of the field includes FAU, UCF, Temple, Abilene Christian, Seton Hall, Toledo and South Florida.   

 

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Ferworn has now went back-to-back with individual wins in two straight tournaments. Before that, Luo won the GMAC invitational. Since 2018, there has never been three straight individual crown wins in three straight tournaments for the Lions. 

 

BABY ON BOARD: On the eve of the Turtle Point Invite, head coach Austin Phillips received perhaps the most rewarding news of his lifetime: the birth of his first child was expected. Phillips, for the home tournament, had to step aside to attend to his wife and newborn. This paved the way for assistant coach Preston Holmes, a protégé of Phillips from their time at Cameron University, to be acting head coach. North Alabama won the tournament and individual crown. Phillips made his way back out for the final few holes of the tournament. Now, Phillips will be back in action for his final fall appearance this season.  

 

TRIPLE OR NOTHING: After Ferworn won his second-ever ASUN Conference Golfer of the Week award following the win, he created history with 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.  

 

Starting Lineup:

TEAM

1. Xing Luo — Jr. — Katy, Texas

2. Sebastian Bengtsson — Jr. — Helsingborg, Sweden

3. Chase Kaiser — Sr. — Natchez, Miss.

4. Corey Maher — Jr. — Frisco, Texas 

5. Andrew Ferworn — So. — Houston, Texas 

Next Match: Following the FAU Golf Invitational, North Alabama will look ahead to the spring when ASUN member Jacksonville will host the Lions for the Sea Best Invitational on Monday, Feb. 3.

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