ATLANTIC BEACH, Florida - In the first of an action-packed spring slate, the UCF men’s golf team commenced play at the Sea Beat Invitational with a strong display during round one Monday afternoon, concluding the day in sixth with a score of 364.
The event, hosted by Jacksonville, welcomed 14 teams to the Atlantic Beach Country Club, including Florida and Texas A&M.
Led by composed rounds from upperclassmen Chase Haygood and Clemente Silva, the Black and Gold weathered the frost warning and hit their stride on the back nine, combining for eight birdies on holes 12 through 15.
The leader of the pack was Silva, who, fresh off a pro win in his native Chile last month, suffered just a pair of bogies on the challenging course. Sitting at even-par before embarking on the final stretch, Silva birdied two of the last four holes to establish himself among the leading pack, heading into the final round two-under-par with an excellent 69.
Not far behind was Haygood, joining Silva with a quartet of birdies, with his fourth coming on his final hole of the day at the 17th. With a 70 across the first 18 holes, the senior is in a great position before Tuesday’s finale.
A trend for UCF throughout the day was its prowess on par threes, as it was one of three teams to finish under par, with an average score of 2.96. Camden Goldknopf authored two of the Knights’ six birdies on par threes, along with one of just two eagles on Monday, to conclude the round three-over-par.
Hans Risvaer followed, as his pair of birdies on holes one and two led the Miami native to a 75 (four-over-par). Palmer Haynes carded a 76, as his birdie on hole 15 propelled him to a five-over-par performance. Playing as an individual, freshman Jakub Hejlek had a strong back-nine showing with three birdies across the last five holes to secure a 77.
The Knights will be back in action tomorrow morning for the second and final round, as the third round was canceled due to low temperatures on Florida’s east coast.