JACKSON, Tenn. – Led by Gray Campbell’s two-under-par, Union men’s golf wrapped up the first event of its spring season on Tuesday with a 13th-place finish at the St. Leo University Invitational.
The three-round, 108-man event was loaded with Division II contenders, including Lee (No. 6), Florida Southern (10), and Nova Southeastern (19). Union, the No. 44 team in the land following a trio of top-three team finishes in the fall, carded a score of 874 (+10) at the par-72 Lake Jovita Golf Club.
Campbell, a junior, began the event with a six-birdie round of -4 golf. Though his scores increased somewhat in the latter two rounds (+2, E), he finished near the upper echelon of participants at T-22. Campbell performed exceptionally on par 5s, where he averaged 4.50 (-6) and recorded seven of his 14 birdies.
Close on Campbell’s heels was Trace Robinson, whose mild oscillation near par (73, 70, 73) left him even after 72 holes and in a tie for 28th place.
Union’s best individual round came on Monday, when JJ Zimmer shot 66 (-6) on his latter 18 holes of the day. Four birdies and two eagles highlighted a session blemished only by one bogey. Zimmer was unable to continue his success on day two and finished the event two-over.
Andrew Westmoreland (230, +14) and Kip Patterson (234, +18) rounded out the Bulldog delegation to the Gulf Coast.
Representation from the GSC was headed by the fifth-place position of Valdosta State. Lee, featuring the No. 2 golfer Oliver Lewis-Perkins (T-25), came in seventh; Montevallo tied for number nine.
Host institution St. Leo raced to a 15-stroke victory, blowing away all competition with a composite of 833 (31-under). Keiser’s Isac Wallin broke 200 in his six-stroke victory over the field, failing to shoot above 67 in the event.
Union will travel next to Georgia for the Valdosta State University Invitational on March 11 and 12.
