DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 4, 2025) – The University of North Alabama men's golf team finished the Daytona Beach Intercollegiate in seventh on Tuesday, March 4. Junior Xing Luo went from eighth to second by the end of round three, two shots away from a shared individual crown. 

The Lions stormed back in round three. They posted a 296 scorecard for the day, a 20-stroke difference from round two. Round one saw a 303 team overall and round two was a high of 316. UNA finished just eight-over for the day. 

North Alabama had the second best day of any team outside the top placed Troy Trojans who placed an even day. Both teams shot below 300 for the final round. 

The Lions moved up five spots in the final round, where they climbed ASUN foes Austin Peay and Central Arkansas. North Alabama also beat out rival and former ASUN member, Jacksonville State.

Troy led the way, without much drama. 14-over for the tournament while second-place and host, Stetson, were 32-over between the three rounds. UCF and Florida Atlantic tied in this one in third with a 900 team score. Campbell comes in a stroke behind that for fifth while UNCW claims sixth just a stroke behind Campbell. 

North Alabama beat out Georgia State by a single stroke. The rest of it is as follows, Jacksonville State, Austin Peay and Central Arkansas tied, Columbia, Oakland, Wright State and West Georgia. \

Luo had a one-over day, two shots shy of a tie for first and an individual crown. In round one, he finished tied for eighth before moving up to sixth in round two. He then posted a 71 stroke score for a round three and second place finish. He included  nine birdies across the three rounds, four in the final round. 

As the Lions bounced back in round three, five of the six moved up in their positioning. Blake Henriques finished in 33rd with a 13-over tournament, who was the only other UNA member inside the top-60 at the conclusion of yesterday. 

Andrew Ferworn climbed from 74th to a tie for 60th with three-over day. Individual participant Chase Kaiser jumped to 63rd with a score of 78. Sebastian Bengtsson finished in 65th with the same score as Ferworn which concluded a 238 for the three rounds. Finally, Corey Maher rounds out the group jumping six spots to 79th, with also, a 75 score on the day good for three-over. 

Between the two rounds yesterday, all six Lions combined for 26 birdies, today they managed 16 in the final round. They added two eagles as well thanks to Bengtsson and Maher. They had none either of the first two rounds. 

"Good bounce back today, still a lot of mistakes but it was better," said Schmitz Family Head Golf Coach Austin Phillips. "Xing played great and another good week by him. We will have to learn from this and be ready to for the rest of the month."

The Lions get to go again next Monday as they compete in the Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State in Thomasville, Ga. at the Glen Arven Country Club.

Daytona Beach Intercollegiate

LPGA International (Hills Course)

Team Leaderboard
1. Troy            878    +14
2. Stetson        896    +32
T3. UCF        900    +36
T3. FAU        900    +36
5. Campbell        901    +37
6. UNCW        902    +38
7. North Alabama    915    +51
8. Georgia State    916    +52
9. Jacksonville State    918     +54
T10. Austin Peay    920    +56
T10. Central Arkansas    920    +56
12. Columbia        922    +58
13. Oakland        923    +59
14. Wright State    952    +88
15. West Georgia    953    +89

North Alabama Golfers
2. Xing Luo            217 | +1
T33. Blake Henriques        229 | +13
T60. Andrew Ferworn        236| +20
*T63. Chase Kaiser        237 | +21        
65. Sebastian Bengtsson    238 | +22
T79. Corey Maher        246 | +30

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