HUMACAO, PR.  — Men's golf kicked off its spring season representing High Point University among power five teams in the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate, hosted by UNCG. The three-day 54-hole tournament took place on Monday February 11 through Tuesday February 13.

Site: Humacao, PR.
Course: Palmas Del Mar Golf Club
Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,122

HPU Top Finisher: Grady Newton (20th) — 73, 71, 69 (213) -3
HPU Team Finish: 13 of 16 teams — 291, 283, 292 (866) +2

HPU Head Coach Todd Eckstein: "I think that there are a lot of positives to take away from the tournament despite where we finished in the field. I was happy to see how we bounced back in round two, especially Gregor shooting what I think is his season low relative to par, and Miller bouncing back after a tough first day. I was really happy to see Grady play a complete tournament and finish in the top-20 and for us to get our first win against a power five school since I took over. The finish wasn't great, but I'm still very happy with the improvement we've made and looking forward to seeing how it's packed up at Wexford next week."

Panther Placement:
(20th) Grady Newton -3
(T21) Gregor Meyer -2
(T57) Fred Roberts IV +4
(T77) Burch Harrison +9
(T93) Miller Carr +18
(96th) Ryan Demit +20

High Point saw quite the challenge in its first spring outing as the Panthers competed against several acclaimed power five institutions. Despite the challenge, HPU still placed higher than Virginia Tech, a nearby power five rival, marking the first win over a power five institution for Coach Eckstein.

Grady Newton finished first for the Panthers in 20th, steadily climbing up the leaderboard each day before rounding out the tournament with a 3-under score. Over the three rounds, he lead the team carding 13 birdies, registering at least four during each round. 

Gregor Meyer was right on Newton's tail, climbing the leaderboards as well with a second round score of 5-under 67 to place T21. Meyer was the only Panther to card an eagle during the trip, which he shot in the second round, contributing to his best score of the week, 5-under, after tacking on four birdies. 

Fred Roberts IV was next on the leaderboard for the Panthers, shooting 70 the first day to help the graduate student place T57. Sophomore Burch Harrison was next in line for High Point finishing the tournament by carding a 73 to finish T77. Miller Carr attended the overseas tournament as well, carding even in the second round to help the freshman to a T93 finish. Graduate student Ryan Demit also attended the competition as an individual finding a 236 total to finish 96th.

Up Next: The Panthers head south to Hilton Head S.C. for the Wexford Intercollegiate next week starting round one on Monday, February 19 for the two-day event.