ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. − Flagler College junior Erik Downs (West Palm Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) shot a 2-over par 144 to finish on a tie for fourth place at the Platinum Coast Invitational which concluded last Sunday (Sept. 14) at the Rockledge Country Club. Spencer Burson of Brevard CC placed first with a 2-under 140. He edged out Devon Spies of UCF by two strokes.

Downs carded a 72 in each round and was followed by freshman Greg Della-Pietra (Stuart, Fla./South Fork HS) who shot a 143 (72-73) to finish in a tie for eighth place. Flagler placed three more golfers in the top 10 with sophomore Chris Bray (Hilliard, Fla./Hilliard HS), junior Justin Wingo (Fairfax, Va./George Mason U.) and junior Andrew Pressentin (Estero, Fla./Miami Palmetto HS) who all carded 146's and tied for 10th place overall.

Freshman Greg Mergel (Allentown, N.J./Wall Township HS) shot a 149 while classmate Joel Dahlenburg (St. Augustine, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) finished a stroke back at 150. Junior Greg Hanlon (Fairfax, Va./Lynchburg College) carded a 152 and fellow junior Steven Davis (Orange Park, Fla./Fleming Island HS) shot a 153. Senior Kodi Merrell (West Palm Beach, Fla./The Benjamin School) and Andrew Kirk rounded out the Flagler's field with a 157 and a 161.

Former Flagler golf standout Andrew Birchall shot a 145 to tie for eighth. He shot a 69 for the first round.

The Flagler men's golf team will play its first fall event on Oct. 4th at the prestigious MacDonald Cup at Yale University.