Flyers Men Take Second at Flyers Invitational

The two-day Flyer Invitational event at Longleaf Golf Club concluded on Tuesday, with the Sandhills Golf "A" team securing second place out of the 13 competing teams, trailing only Methodist University. The Flyers finished at +21, a mere four strokes behind the Monarchs.

"I think it's a huge advantage for us to play here because we play here quite a bit," said Flyers coach Gus Ulrich. "With that said, it's a little disappointing we didn't win, but I'm still encouraged."

"The conditions were tough out here today; it was cold, windy, and the greens were pretty fast and tricky," remarked Ulrich. "I think the course played really tough, but we held our own and had a pretty good showing. The season's still young, and I think we've got a lot of potential."

Leading the way for the Flyers was freshman Daniel Aitken, who finished in a tie for third place at an even 144 (69-75), just two strokes behind the overall winner, Ross Tetrault from Georgia Military College (68-74-142). Aitken closed the tournament with nine birdies and an eagle on the 14th hole of Round 1.

"Daniel's got tons of talent, and I expected this out of him," said Ulrich.

Other notable finishers for the Flyers include sophomore Watcharakan Chankarn, securing fifth place at three strokes over par (74-73-147), and sophomore Ben Read, finishing in sixth place at five strokes over par (75-74-149).

Freshmen Evan Cowell (75-76-151) and Landon Cabingas (76-75-151) concluded the tournament tied in ninth place, shooting seven strokes over par, while freshman Randy Hanna (76-80-156) finished in a tie for 16th place, and sophomore Liam Harris (78-79-157) finished tied for 19th place.

"Evan Cowell had a really nice tournament; he showed a lot of improvement, as did Landon Cabingas, two freshmen," said Ulrich. "I'm really excited for those two moving into next year; this year is going to provide them with a lot of experience, but those two really stood out to me."

"We're heading up to Greensboro next week, and I think if we gel, we've got a good chance to win. Then the following week, we'll be playing with a lot of D1 teams at East Carolina's tournament," added Ulrich. "I'm really excited."

The Flyers will travel to Greensboro next Monday to compete in the Pfeiffer Invitational at Forest Oaks Golf Club.

T. Ratcliff