Manuel = Medalist Again

ESTERO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- UCF junior golfer Manuel Elvira must really enjoy playing in the Homewood Hilton Airport FGCU Invitational.

For the second straight year, Elvira shared medalist honors at the tournament. This year, the best score of the day, helped him go from 10th at the beginning of the day all the way to a tie for first at the end of Tuesday's 18 holes on the Old Corkscrew Golf Club course.

Elvira carded a bogey on the eighth and a birdie on the ninth on a windy, difficult day for golf. He recorded an eagle that proved to be the difference between a 2-under round and an even-par round on the Par 5 11th hole. Another birdie and another bogey later in the round gave him a 2-under 70 for the day. That left him at 3-over for the tournament. While Elvira was playing well, the second-round leader Will Sallee of Eastern Kentucky wasn't faring as well with Tuesday's conditions. He scored an 81, leaving the door open for Elvira to climb all the way up the leader-board into a tie for medalist honors.

UCF's Ryan Stovash -- who was playing as an individual -- also turned in a 2-under 70 on Tuesday, tying Elvira's third-round output. Stovash carded four birdies and two bogeys in the third round. That great finish left him in third place in the individual standings at the end of the tournament.

Kyler Tate, who led the Knights through the first two rounds, also turned in a Top 5 finish. He wrapped up play at 5-over for the tournament and was tied for fourth place.

As a team, the Knights finished third. Eastern Kentucky won the event with a three-round score of 888 (+24), while the host FGCU was second at 892 (+28). UCF tallied a three-round total of 896 (+32) to round out the top three in the 16-team tournament.

Juuso Kahlos (T17, +11), Bobby Bai (T34, +16) and Donnie Trosper (T39, +18) rounded out the Knights' lineup.

UCF Individuals

Team Results