ONEONTA, Ala. (September 24, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's golf team celebrated two wins at the GMAC Invitational hosted by UAB on Tuesday, tying for first to share the team crown with Louisiana-Monroe at 30-under-par 834.
The Lions also took home the individual medal, as junior Xing Luo finished first to win with a 16-under-par 200. This marks the best Division I three-round individual tournament score in program history by three strokes. Today, he beat Niilo Maki-Petaja of Louisiana Tech and Louis Anceaux of ULM by two strokes.
The 834 score is North Alabama's best Division I three-round team record in school history. The previous best was the 2022 Streamsong Invitational, where the team had an 836 stroke score. This also marks the third tournament win in two seasons under Coach Austin Phillips.
Leading at the start of the final round, UNA got behind the eight-ball early, dropping three spots to fourth place behind ULM, ASUN foe Lipscomb and Jacksonville State after leading the tournament the entire way. JSU ended the day 15-under as a team and ULM finished 10-under for the day. Every starter besides Luo dropped out of the top-15 before surging back.
"What a roller coaster day," said head coach Austin Phillips. "Had a hot start, but we lost all momentum in the middle of the round. For the guys to come from 7 back with 3 holes to play, it shows the heart they have. What a day for this program and it shows how special this team is."
Junior Sebastian Bengtsson provided some steadiness, finishing in 10th place on the day at one-under for the round and six-under for the tournament. Sophomore Andrew Ferworn did much of the same, finishing with the same round and tournament total. Ferworn provided two eagles on the day, while Bengtsson provides four birdies which was second-best among the field. This ties Ferworn's best individual finish for a tournament.
Junior Corey Maher provided some help as he climbed out of the 40s to finish in 36th place following another Lion one-under-day. Junior Blake Henriques carded three-over-par 75 for the day to finish 52nd overall. He started at two-under-par in round one.
Luo stayed right in the slipstream of first place all tournament long. He finished tied for second on day one and stood alone at second on day two. ULM's Louis Anceaux posted a nine-under round two to take over first. However, Luo stayed steady with a four-under, six-under and six-under to round out the tournament for the win. Luo added eight birdies on the day with a 32 stroke front nine and a 34 stroke back nine.
"So proud of Xing and his effort this week," said Phillips. "To finally get his first college win and to do it by birdieing the last 3 holes, what a performance. He's a special player and it's amazing seen my how confident he is becoming"
Individual Chase Kaiser represented the Lions well outside the lineup with an even-par 216. He tied two individuals from Alabama in 33rd.
Behind UNA and ULM was Lipscomb in third place behind two strokes, followed by Jacksonville State and Louisiana Tech in the top five. Memphis, UAB, Troy and USC Upstate also finished below par for the tournament, while Samford was one-over to round out the top 10.
Next up, UNA will compete in Lexington, Ky. At the Cullan Brown Collegiate Oct. 7-8 hosted by Kentucky at Lexington Country Club.
GMAC Invitational
Limestone Springs Golf Club
Team Leaderboard
T1. North Alabama 834 -30
T1. ULM 834 -30
3. Lipscomb 836 -28
4. Jax State 838 -26
5. Louisiana Tech 841 -23
6. Memphis 845 -19
T7. UAB 854 -10
T7. Troy 854 -10
9. USC Upstate 858 -6
10. Samford 865 +1
11. Lamar 874 +10
12. Evansville 895 +31
13. Alabama State 937 +73
North Alabama Golfers
1. Xing Luo 200 | -16
T10. Andrew Ferworn 210 | -6
T10. Sebastian Bengtsson 210 | -6
*T33. Chase Kaiser 216 | E
T36. Blake Henriques 217 | +1
T52. Corey Maher 221 | +5
* denotes individual participant
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
