Helm: Florida Southern's Alvarez leads at fall finale
At the Florida Southern Mocs final tournament of the fall season, the Citrus Intercollegiate at nearby Champions Gate Golf Club, redshirt junior Adam Alvarez leads a stacked field through two rounds.
The Winter Haven native led the program in scoring as a freshman, posted a 73.49 average as a sophomore, and is leading the team in scoring again as a junior. Alvarez, who has been trending in the right direction all fall, earned a top 10 finish at the Otter Invitational in Seaside, California at the Mocs last event before arriving at Champions Gate.
Alvarez got off to a slow start in the opening round on Monday, bogeying his first hole in the shotgun start on Greg Norman designed National Course. From there, Alvarez played flawless golf. On his next hole, the long par-3 fifth hole, Alvarez carded a birdie 2 to get back to even par and never looked back. Eight consecutive pars were followed by a stretch of golf that launched him into a three-way tie for the lead. Birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 got him to red figures, and strong iron play resulted in birdies in three of his last four holes in the opening round.
In the afternoon round on Monday, Alvarez picked up where he left off, again starting on the short par-4 No.4, this time carding a par before lighting the course on fire. Beginning on hole 5, Alvarez birdied four straight, distancing himself from the field. From there, Alvarez cooled somewhat, playing steady golf with 5 straight pars before another birdie on the par-5 14th brought him to 10-under for the tournament. A pair of bogeys were offset by two more birdies coming in gave Alvarez another 5-under, 67 and a 10-under tally through two rounds. Neither of the other players who posted 67s in the morning were able to keep up with Alvarez in the afternoon, though top-ranked Barry University’s Amani D’Ambrioso carded seven birdies en route to a -6, 66 and a tie for the lead. Carson Newman’s Jake Mynatt matched the 66 to sit one shot back of the leaders.
“It’s great to see Adam in position going into this last round of the fall,” said Head Coach Lee White. “He’s worked hard on developing a go to tee shot which has helped him become a lot more consistent.”
As a team, Barry two-round tally of 25-under, 551 was good for an eight-shot lead over Nova Southeastern (559). Carson Newman was not far behind, its 561 within striking distance of a team title.
As a team, Florida Southern did not fare as well in the opening rounds. Their 290 and 297 totals put them out of the running, leaving them in 13th place out of 14 schools. Bartow’s Bryce Walker, also a junior, followed Alvarez with a 1-under in Monday’s first round. Redshirt Freshman Harrison Harper posted an even par 72, but played as an individual. Disappointing rounds from the rest of the squad negated the below par scores from Alvarez and Walker, and the Mocs didn’t fare better in the afternoon round.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Mistretta played solid golf, especially towards the end of his round, en route to a 1-under, 71. But a pair of rounds at 81 from Max Watson and Johnny Tucker meant the Mocs had to count one of them, along with Walker’s 78.
“As a team, we’re struggling to avoid penalties off the tee,” said White. “Our goal in the final round will be to keep the ball in play and give ourselves more birdie opportunities.”
At press time, Alvarez held the outright lead by one shot in the final round, posting a -2 tally through his opening nine holes.
47th Pop Sikes Golf Day
The Florida Southern Mocs men’s golf program’s largest fundraiser of the year is set for December 12th, again at Lone Palm Golf Club. Pop Sikes Golf Day is a four-person scramble, complete with a cookout lunch, a social hour following play, and a full dinner.
The festivities begin at 11:30, the shotgun start at 12:30, followed by dinner at 6 p.m.
Hole sponsors start at $150, while a foursome sponsorship is $1,000. For more information, contact lwhite@floridasouthern.edu .
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Helm: Florida Southern's Alvarez leads at fall finale
