VALDOSTA, Ga. (April 23, 2025) – The University of North Alabama men's golf team concluded the ASUN Championship in fourth place on Thursday, April 24 at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club. 

This was the final day of the three-day tournament, playing 18 holes. The Lions finished in fourth, being as close as two strokes away from second and as low as fifth.  

The fourth place finish is the highest in the program's Division I history. North Alabama's previous best finish came in 2021 when the Lions placed fifth. The Schmitz Family Head Men's Golf Coach, Austin Phillips, finished seventh a season ago and saw his team raise three sports; this is the largest jump from a year to year frame for UNA in the ASUN Championship.  

The Lions 16-under-par 848-overall score placed eighth in Division I history for Best Division I three round team total. This was on pace from yesterday that ended in UNA's eighth best two round team total at 546.  

North Alabama finished one birdie shy of first place for the tournament with 57 as second place Stetson finished with 58. The Lions earned third place in par-4s and par-5s for the three days. 

Junior Xing Luo led the way as he rose three spots from seventh to fourth on the final day. At one point, Luo was in second as he battled it out with Central Arkansas golfers until Stetson's Gaspar Glaudas won the individual crown.  

Luo solidified a 69-70-70 three rounds for seven-under and becomes the highest finish for the Lions at fourth since Carter Goodwin's second place tie in 2022. The junior added four more birdies on the day for 13 for the week. He finished every nine holes under par. 

This is his third top-five finish this spring and fifth top-eight finish in the same timeframe.  

Sebastian Bengtsson finished in 10th on day two but jumped four spots to rank sixth for the tournament. Like Luo, he finished with a two-under day that saw three birdies and an eagle to help solidify another top-10 honor for North Alabama. 

Bengtsson and Luo finish inside the top-10. The Lions had not had a top-10 finish at the ASUN Conference tournament since Goodwin's second place finish in 2022. North Alabama adds two on the final day.  

Sophomore Andrew Ferworn continued to rise in the last 18, being highlighted as the lead man for several holes midway through the day. Ferworn went on a streak of a birdie or par for 13 straight holes and carded a 33 for the front nine. He finished in 11th with a five-under tournament. 

Senior Chase Kaiser added four birdies, one coming on the 17th hole which was a two-shot par-3. Kaiser finished in 44th for the week. 

After two rounds, Blake Henriques passed the clubs to Corey Maher for the final round. The junior added two birdies and shot one-under on the back nine to finish out the final round.  

Ferworn led the field in par-4s for the tournament at six-under and a 3.80 average. Bengtsson led all players in par-5s at eight-under with a 4.33 clip.  

Kaiser, Bengtsson and Ferworn all eagled once this week. Bengtsson, Ferworn and Luo all finished third for birdies with 13.  

At the end of the live scoring, it did not look like much changed from day two to day three. However, in the moment, hysteria ensued for the race to a conference championship.  

Central Arkansas had a strong grip on the lead the entire way until the final few holes when the Bears nearly gave it away to Stetson on the final green. UCA, at one point, led by seven strokes on the day but won the ASUN championship by just one. 

As Stetson and Central Arkansas raced to the final green, FGCU and North Alabama went back and forth for their positions. UNA jumped into third, tied for third and dropped in fifth during the theatrics of the final day. 

Leading into the 15th hole, the Lions had a stroke lead on FGCU as the Eagles were finishing up the 11th hole. Florida Gulf Coast broke free and took hold of third place at 23-under for the Championship. 

North Alabama took fourth with a 16-under tournament, a stroke ahead of Jacksonville who secured fifth. North Florida finished in sixth, but rose to tie in third. The Ospreys were paired with Lion golfers for the Thursday round.  

Lipscomb finished where they started, in seventh place. Queens gave the Lions a scare at one point in the front nine taking third from the Lions before settling back in at 10-under for the tournament.  

Austin Peay, EKU, Bellarmine and West Georgia round out the rest of the field respectively.  

"We tried to make a little comeback today and the guys gave it their all," said The Schmitz Family Head Men's Golf Coach, Austin Phillips. "We wish the season was still going but we are building a solid foundation for the future. We have to thank Chase (Kaiser) for all the hard work and it's hard to see him finish out his career. Excited for Xing (Luo) to make it to Regionals; we can't wait to get next season started."   

This concludes North Alabama's regular season as a team. The NCAA will announce team and individual placements for regionals next Wednesday, April 30 on NCAA.org.
 
ASUN Championships 
Kinderlou Forest Golf Club 

Team Leaderboard
1. Central Arkansas 838 -26
2. Stetson 839 -25
3. FGCU 841 -23
4. North Alabama 848 -16
5. Jacksonville 849 -15
6. North Florida 852 -12
7. Lipscomb 853 -11
8. Queens 854 -10
9. Austin Peay 869 +5
10. EKU 873 +9
11. Bellarmine 879 +15
12. West Georgia 893 +29

North Alabama Golfers
T4. Xing Luo 209 | -7 
T6. Sebastian Bengtsson 210 | -6
T11. Andrew Ferworn 211 | -5 
T44. Chase Kaiser 221| +5 
T64. Corey Maher 80  | +8

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