ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. (February 3, 2025) – The University of North Alabama men's golf team rounded out the first day of the Sea Best Invitational on Monday at the Atlantic Beach Country Club in Atlantic Beach, Fla. tied for fifth place. 

The Lions walked away with a team stroke score of 571 which leads Lipscomb by three strokes in seventh. Sophomore Andrew Ferworn climbed out of an early hole to finish fourth on the day with a total of six-under-par. He shot three-under-par 68 in both rounds.  

The field proved to be a tough one for day one. Texas A&M, the lone Power Four program in the tournament, rallied from their initial ninth placement all the way into first. The Aggies lead the way at 19-under as a squad. Florida Atlantic and ASUN foe FGCU both are tied for second at 13-under for the first day. After that, a drop-off occurs as UNCW is in fourth at three-under and then former ASUN foe Kennesaw State ties North Alabama at three-over-par 571 for fifth. 

Texas A&M's Phichaksn Maichon leads the way at nine-under-par. Guilerhme Grinberg from Florida Atlantic lands in second, one stroke behind Maichon. In third, Christian Figueredo from FGCU notches a one-stroke advantage above Ferworn. The Aggies hold five of the top-12 spots through the first day.  

Ferworn was on fire in the first round, posting one eagle with four birdies in the first 18. Round two, he continued with four more birdies and only one bogey. After Ferworn, junior Sebastian Bengtsson is the next Lion in pursuit tied for 26th. Bengtsson posted one-over-par day with six birdies. Junior Xing Luo recorded six birdies to climb back up the boards to tie for 37th. 

Juniors Blake Henriques and Corey Maher round out the group. Henriques finished the day tied for 48th and Maher landed in the 57th slot — tied with seven others. Henriques notched five birdies between the two rounds for a five-over scorecard, while Maher grabbed a team-high of seven birdies with a nine-over day. 

"We didn't play our best today, and we made a lot mistakes that we normally don't make," said The Schmitz Family Head Men's Golf Coach, Austin Phillips. "There was a fight back at the end of the first round, but we need to come with a different intensity tomorrow. This team has a lot of potential, so we will push for a big round tomorrow. Andrew played great, and I'm excited for him to get involved for the individual champion tomorrow."

The tournament finishes play on Tuesday. The Lions will travel to Thomasville, Ga. after the conclusion of the Sea Best Invitational. UNA will compete in the Seminole Intercollegiate March 10-11 hosted by Florida State at Glen Arven Country Club.  

Sea Best Invitational
Atlantic Beach Country Club

Team Leaderboard
1. Texas A&M                549    -19 
T2. FAU                         555    -13
T2. FGCU                      555    -13
4. UNCW                       565    -3
T5. Kennesaw State      571    +3
T5. North Alabama        571    +3
7. Lipscomb                  575    +7
8. Jacksonville              580    +12
9. Louisiana Tech          586     +18
10. Queens                   588    +20
11. UCF                        589    +21
12. USC Upstate          598    +30

North Alabama Golfers
4. Andrew Ferworn                136 | -6
T26. Sebastian Bengtsson    143 | +1        
T37. Xing Luo                        145 | +3
T48. Blake Henriques            147 | +5
T57. Corey Maher                  151 | +9

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