Tuesday, October 04, 2011

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Led by tournament co-medalist Brandon Pena’s (Clewiston, Fla./Clewiston HS) four-under par 68, the FGCU men’s golf team held off a final round surge by Eastern Kentucky to come away with a team title at the 12-team Cobra-PUMA Invitational hosted by Xavier University at nearby Miromar Lakes Golf Club.

The Eagles entered the day with a five-stroke lead over Loyola-Maryland, but it was Eastern Kentucky who gave the Green and Blue the biggest scare. The Colonels entered the day in fifth place and their final round 15-under par 273 fell just one stroke shy of FGCU for first place. The Eagles’ team score of 289 was their second of the tournament, capping a three-round 289-275(-13)-289/853(-11).

“I’m really proud of the guys for coming into today with the right mindset and going out and holding on for the team title,” said head coach Brent Jensen, who has led FGCU to a trio of team titles since taking over last year. “We had some really good individual performances and it’s great to see guys step up in pressure situations. I’m excited at the progress we’ve made over the last few weeks and now we need to build off that heading into next weekend.”

Pena’s final round 68 was his third straight under-par round of the tournament, but Eastern Kentucky’s Bill Peel Jr. shot a tournament-low seven-under 65 on Monday to tie for medalist honors. Pena produced FGCU’s lowest score in all three rounds en route to a 71(-1)-67(-5)-68(-4)/206(-10). The Clewiston, Fla. product carded 13 birdies and a pair of eagles over the 54 holes and ranked second in par 5 scoring (-8).

The individual tournament title is the first of Pena’s illustrious four-year career after finishing runner-up in a tournament in each of the last two seasons. A second team Atlantic Sun All-Conference performer in 2011, Pena has contributed a counting score in 33 straight rounds and now has 20 career under-par rounds.