A slow start has left plenty of room for improvement for Florida Tech at the Guy Harvey Invitational. Following an 11-over 299 and a six-over 294 in each of the first two rounds, the Panthers lie in a tie for 12th overall. (FIT Image)
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – A slow start has left plenty of room for improvement for Florida Tech at the Guy Harvey Invitational. Following an 11-over 299 and a six-over 294 in each of the first two rounds, the Panthers lie in a tie for 12th overall.
“I think we have a good, seasoned team for this tournament,” said head coach Chris Saltmarsh. “Unfortunately, we just put up too many big numbers today. We made some freshmen mistakes, essentially. This is a golf course that they play a professional event on so I expected our scores to be slightly higher than average. If you make mistakes out there it’s going to show.”
For the third consecutive tournament, Florida Tech has been lifted by the efforts of Travis Waninger and freshman Ali Thurlow. Waninger followed up an opening three-over 75 with an even-par 72 in the second round to climb into a tie for 30th.
Meanwhile, Thurlow pieced together his own round of 72, coupled with a five-over 77 in the afternoon. Thurlow and fellow teammate Joe Ellis are currently tied in 48th.
Valentin Riviere and Gaelen Trew each combined to shoot seven-over on the day to round out the Panthers’ five-man rotation. Trew, an NCAA National Championship qualifier from a year ago, has scored an average of 74.6 strokes through five rounds this fall.
Chris Saltmarsh
“There’s still a learning curve,” Saltmarsh said when asked about the sophomore’s start to the season.
“I think sometimes as a freshman you can play without any worries. You have those expectations of yourself, but there’s no expectations put on you because you’re a freshman. I think he’s ultimately added a little pressure to himself this year. He’s there, it’s just something he’s going to need to work through and keep learning.”
Not in the lineup, but participating as an individual, sophomore Toby Roberts posted a collective 13-over 157 in his first action of the year.
Led by individual co-leader Joey Savoie, Saint Leo is out in front by seven strokes with Barry, Flagler and Lynn in a three-way tie for second. Savoie and North Alabama’s Forrest Knight currently hold a one-stroke advantage over the Saints’ Jordan Ebanks.
With 18 holes to play, Florida Tech will be grouped with Florida Southern, Rollins and UNA as Tuesday’s final round gets underway at 8:30 a.m. ET.
“I expect them to bounce back tomorrow, they’re a very resilient team,” said Saltmarsh. I like where things are going, it’s just a matter of time and hopefully we keep putting ourselves in good positions.”
Team Standings Top-10
1. Saint Leo (-5) 571
T2. Barry (+2) 578
T2. Flagler (+2) 578
T2. Lynn (+2) 578
T5. Indianapolis (+3) 579
T5. Nova Southeastern (+3) 579
7. Johnson & Wales (Fla.) (+5) 581
8. West Florida (+6) 582
T9. Florida Southern (+10) 586
T9. Rollins (+10) 586 T12. Florida Tech (+17) 593
