DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Brendan Dunphy climbed up eight spots into a tie for sixth, and Longwood men's golf followed suit. The Lancers tied for second in the 18-team field at the Daytona Beach Invitational for their best finish in the regular season since the fall of 2018.
 
SCORES:
Daytona Beach Spring Invitational
LPGA International-Hills Course
Par 72, 6,984 Yards
 
T2. Longwood: 296-292-292—880 (+16)
 
T6. Brendan Dunphy: 72-73-72—217 (+1)
T15. Nick Rakes: 74-72-74—220 (+4)
T24. Scott Jordan: 76-72-73—221 (+5)
T32. Zane Moore: 75-75-73—223 (+7)
T58. Justin Larue: 75-75-79—229 (+13)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Longwood came into the day three strokes out of first, and the Lancers were able to shake off a slow start to start their climb from fourth to a tie for second.
 
Every player finished in the top half of the 116-player field, and Longwood had three players inside the top 25.
 
Dunphy climbed up eight spots into a tie for sixth thanks to a strong finish after a rocky middle section of the course. He posted back-to-back birdies to start the back nine, then made par on six straight holes. With Longwood in a tie for third, he birdied the final hole to lift the Lancers into a tie for second place.
 
Nick Rakes moved up a pair of spots into a tie for 15^th, and he managed a par on 13 of the final 18 holes he played to go with a pair of birdies. For him, it was his second straight performance inside the top 15 after finishing tied for 14^th at the Savannah Intercollegiate in the third week in February.
 
Scott Jordan was strongest in the middle of the round, with three birdies coming between holes six and 11, and his 73 was tied for the second best score for the Lancers on the day. He finished tied for 24^th.
 
Zane Moore closed with a 73 in the final round, his best score of the invitational, to move into a tie for 32^nd. He had a pair of birdies in his final six holes, and he has hit a 73 in the final round of a tournament for the second time in a row this spring.
 
Justin Larue closed strong to finish in a tie for 58^th. He had a birdie in the final two holes and shot par or better in each of the final four holes.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
"Winning a college golf tournament is hard, and, obviously, having the lead down the stretch only to finish a shot back hurts," said Head Coach Kevin Fillman. "Every player wants to point to one thing that he believes lost the tournament for us. The truth is that we all had plenty of opportunities over the past 54 holes, and it wasn't just one shot by one player that cost us."
 
"We talk a lot about giving each shot the attention it deserves, and we left far more than enough out there both yesterday and today to where the outcome should not have been even close," Fillman added. "This is just another learning experience that we'll use to make sure we're better the next time we have a chance to win."
 
"I was happy to see Brendan bounce back after what, for him, was a poor performance in Savannah a couple weeks ago," Fillman said about the senior. "We've relied a lot on him, whether he's out first or last, throughout his career, and we're going to need the best version of him over the next six weeks or so in order for us to meet our goals."

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
The second place finish is Longwood's best since finishing tied for second at the Matthews Auto Intercollegiate on October 1, 2018.
 
Longwood was second best in the field on average score on Par 3s, with the team posting a 3.17 average score.
 
The Lancers were third-best in the field on Par 4s, posting a 4.13 scoring average on such holes.
 
Longwood led the field with 43 birdies.
 
Dunphy and Rakes tied for eighth in lowest average score on Par 4s (4.03).
 
Rakes and Jordan tied for eighth in the field in birdies with 10 throughout the tournament.
 
Dunphy led the Lancers with pars, posting 37.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Lancers stay down in Florida for their second tournament of the week. They will play in the Spring Break Invitational, hosted by Sacred Heart, on Thursday and Friday at the LPGA International Golf Course, but it will be on a different course at the venue than the Daytona Beach Invitational.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower