UCF junior Chase Haygood fired two rounds under par and owned a share of the lead at the New Year’s Invitational held at the St. Petersburg Country Club this past weekend, where he finished tied for 10th with a 213 (-3) on the player leaderboard.
He opened the tournament with a 68 (-4) in the first round thanks to five birdies. Haygood birdied his second hole of the day and caught fire on the back nine, dropping in four of his five birdie putts. He recorded four consecutive birdies on holes 14 through 17. The stretch included two par 3’s, a par 4 and a par 5.
In the second round, Haygood also carded a four-under-par 68 with six birdies. He had a bogey-free front nine with three birdies and added three more birdies on the back nine. The Daytona Beach, Florida, native notched a birdie on holes 6, 7, 9, 14, 15 and 16.
Haygood entered the final day of the tournament tied for the individual lead with a 136 (-8). He shot a 77 in the third round with a pair of birdies.
During the fall season, Haygood won the individual title at the Island Resort Intercollegiate with a career-best 208 (-8). He was the only player in the field to shoot a score under par all three rounds in that event.