KILLEN, Ala. (October 15, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's golf team wrapped up their home tournament, the Turtle Point Invite, in Killen, Ala. on Tuesday. The Lions hoisted the trophy for team tournament winner, individual crown for sophomore Andrew Ferworn and the UNA course record for shooting 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 is the fifth straight Turtle Point victory dating back to 2019, as the Lions did not host a 2020 home tournament due to COVID-19. Eight of the last nine Turtle Point tournaments have been wins for UNA.
The Lions finished 25-under for the tournament which totaled to 839. This stroke score bests the previous Turtle Point record by five strokes, at 844. 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.
North Alabama led the field in an array of categories. The Lions led by 17 strokes in par-fours and by four strokes in par-fives. UNA also led with 54 birdies and tied for second with three eagles. UNA had the lowest amount of bogeys of any team with 33, while every other team finished with 55 or more. UNA left day one tied for pars but eventually pulled away by adding 60 more in the last round to total at 175.
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.
"Seeing them all finish inside the top-25 is just hard work paying off," said UNA assistant coach Preston Holmes, who served as head coach for the tournament while UNA head coach Austin Phillips and his wife welcomed the birth of their son on Monday. "I know some of them didn't play the way that they wanted to, whether that was on the first day or the second day. I saw good golf from everyone at this tournament. There is a lot to build on, but there is also a lot to be proud of."
Holmes also had to step in as tournament director while leading the Lions. Phillips showed late in day two to watch his team win the crown and to see Ferworn finish his strong tournament outing on the final greens.
"It was amazing," said Holmes. "I think I was on the 17th hole with Corey Maher. We recognized Coach Phillips from the fairway. He texted me before but I tried to keep it quiet from the guys because I wanted him to show up and surprise them to get the juices flowing. Seeing him show up was amazing, and I think it got the players amped up a little bit. They had been saying it and I had been saying it, 'Let's play for Coach Phillips, his wife, and the baby and let's get a win for them'. So seeing him come out for the last couple of holes was a sweet way to end it.
Ferworn finishes off a masterful weekend as he shot six-under both in round one and round two, in round three he finished one-under for a 71. He carded a 203 that included 14 birdies and one eagle on the tournament. This would be the best three-round individual tournament finish if it was not for Luo's 200 scorecard at the GMAC Invitational earlier this season.
Ferworn became the first Lion to win individual crowns in back-to-back tournaments in the Division I era. His 203 score also marks the best three-round tournament score for a UNA player at Turtle Point. He also joins a small list of three Lions to win Turtle Point since 2016 which includes Forrest Knight in 2016 and Aaron Jackson in 2019.
North Alabama now has nine individual winners in Division I school history. Five of those have come in this past calendar year under head coach Austin Phillips and three have come in the first three completed tournaments this season.
Luo finished the first day tied in the 15th slot at Turtle Point. However, he found himself quickly in the last 18 holes as he shot a third-round best of seven-under-par 65, which was good enough for the best individual round in this year's tournament. The next closest was a six-under from Ferworn in both of the first two rounds. Luo completed the tournament tied for first in birdies with 15.
Luo's hot shooting jumped him up behind Ferworn to win runner-up for the tournament as the Lions made a clean sweep across the board. Luo, at one point, shot eight-under which would have been a school record. Instead, he tied former Lion Jackson Wedgeworth for best individual round with a 65, which came in the third round of the 2019 Sam Hall Intercollegiate.
Maher and Henriques find their best finish of the year at 20 and 23 respectively. Previously, Maher's highest came at the GMAC Invitational at 36th. Henriques, who joined the Lions from the Division II ranks, had his best finish this season came in the same tournament at 53rd.
The Lions had two individuals participate in the home tournament in junior Cory Abbott and steady senior Chase Kaiser. Abbott finished the tournament with a 23-over that saw six birdies.
Kaiser hung around the 15th slot all weekend before eventually claiming 14th. He broke even in round one with a 72 and then had back-to-back one-under rounds to finish with a 214. The 72-71-71 is a personal best three-round tournament for him. Kaiser tied for fifth in both eagles and par-fives at Turtle Point.
"What a day for this program to continue the consistency these guys have had this year," said Coach Phillips. "They keep putting themselves in the right positions and continue to follow the process. I knew once Andrew won last week, it could jump start something special. He played great once again. Proud of Preston and his leadership this week considering all the circumstances. Look forward to the rest of the season with these guys, it's a special group of players."
There were 10 teams in the field. Only one other team, Jacksonville State, came in under par on the first day with a one-under. West Florida rounds out the top-three at three-over-par. Stephen F. Austin, Samford "A" and Montevallo slot in at four, five and six with 13-over, 15-over and a 17-over, respectively. Western Illinois, Alabama A&M, Wallace State and Samford "B" close out the field. Jax State and Montevallo are the only two teams outside of North Alabama to record an under-par round.
North Alabama finishes their fall season at the FAU Golf Invitational Oct. 28-29 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. at the PGA National (Champion) course.
Turtle Point Invite
Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club
Team Leaderboard - Tournament Final
1. North Alabama 839 | -25
2. Jacksonville State 861 | -3
3. West Florida 867 | +3
4. Samford "A" 878 | +14
T5. Stephen F. Austin 884 | +20
T5. Montevallo 884 | +20
7. Western Illinois 895 | +31
8. Alabama A&M 902 | +38
9. Wallace State 910 | +46
10. Samford B 913 | +49
North Alabama Golfers - Tournament Final
1. Andrew Ferworn 203 | -13
2. Xing Luo 208 | -8
*T14. Chase Kaiser 214 | -2
T20. Corey Maher 217 | +1
T23. Blake Henriques 218 | +2
T23. Sebastian Bengtsson 218 | +2
*T67. Cory Abbott 239 | +23
* denotes individual participant
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
