GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville University's men's golf team finished the Gators Invitational over the weekend, finishing 16th overall. The Dolphins recorded rounds of 296, 282 and 299 for a combined score of +37. The two-day event at Mark Bostick Golf Club featured 18 teams, including seven from Florida.
Senior Daniel Montalvo, from Mexico City, turned in one of his strongest performances of the season. He achieved his second-best three-round score of the season in Gainesville, posting rounds of 72, 69 and 73 for an overall +5. Earlier in the season at the West Bay Collegiate, Montalvo recorded his season-best with a three-round total of -3. Montalvo's performance was tied for the best score of any Dolphin, and tied for 30th overall.
Saturday saw the Dolphins get off to a slow start, posting a combined team score of +16, which placed them tied for 15th after the morning's opening round alongside three other teams.
However, the Dolphins rebounded impressively with a combined team score of just +2, a 14-shot improvement, moving them into 13th place heading into Sunday's final round. Although round two had to be completed on Sunday morning due to darkness, the delay had no negative impact on the team, as it finished the round even par from Saturday night's position.
Brandon Lohr posted the team's best round of the weekend in round two, shooting a three-under 67 that included two birdies and the Dolphins' only eagle of the tournament. He finished the weekend at four over par, placing him tied for 30th with teammate Montalvo.
Will Harris turned in his best 18 holes of the weekend with a +2 round of 72, highlighted by three birdies. After starting on hole 16 and carding two bogeys in his first three holes, he rebounded to go two under par over his next 11 holes.
After a delayed start to round three, Jacksonville struggled to regain momentum, echoing their first-round struggles. The team carded a combined score of +19 on Sunday.
Andrew Morgan shot an even-par front nine in round three, marking his best stretch of golf for the weekend. His 74 in round two also stood as his top score. Tomas Hjaltested delivered his best round on Sunday, finishing with a +5.
The Dolphins finished two shots above rival North Florida, who finished the tournament 17th overall.
Dolphins Scorecards:
T30 Daniel Montalvo 72-69-73 (+4)
T30 Brandon Lohr 73-67-74 (+4)
T87 Will Harris 75-72-79 (+16)
T90 Andrew Morgan 77-74-77 (+18)
98 Tomas Hjaltested 76-84-75 (+25)
Team Leaderboard:
Florida (-27), Auburn (-13), Oklahoma State (-2), USF (+4), Charlotte (+12), Notre Dame (+14), Liberty (+19), Chattanooga (+20), Georgia Southern (+20), Indiana (+20), FGCU (+22), UCF (+24), Furman (+30), FAU (+34), Penn State (+34), Jacksonville (+34), UNF (+38), West Virginia (+40).
Next Up
The Dolphins return to action next month at the Linger Longer Invitational, hosted by Kennesaw State from March 20–22 at Great Waters Country Club in Eatonton, Ga.
