Kiawah Island, S.C. – Playing in cold, windy conditions, the Erskine Men's Golf Team opened the spring portion of their schedule with a 4^th place finish in the 18 team Newberry College Invitational on The Ocean Course (Par 72, 6682 yards) at Kiawah Island.
 
The Fleet stormed back today, advancing up the leaderboard after sitting in sixth place after Monday's first round.  After shooting a 317 on Monday, the Fleet fired a 302 in the second round and finished with a 306 in the final round.
 
Senior Ford Blanchard (Orangeburg, SC, Orangeburg Preparatory Schools) led the charge, shooting par (72) in the second round followed by a one under par (71) in the final round.  Blanchard finished third overall, three strokes behind the individual winner, Sebastian Anderson of Mount Olive.
 
Next in the clubhouse for the Fleet was senior Brad Thorne (Moore, SC, Oakbrook Preparatory School).  Thorne sat one stroke behind Blanchard on Monday and shot a 77 and 76 today to earn a top 20 finish, tied for 17^th overall.
 
Sophomore Paul Fitzgerald (Charlotte, NC, Providence Day ) overcame a disappointing first round score of 81 to help the Fleet's charge up the leaderboard with a 75 and 79 in the final two rounds.
 
Junior Tyler Lucas (Rock Hill, SC, Northwestern High School) completed the scoring for the Fleet, shooting a 79, 78 and 84 in the three rounds respectively.
 
Erskine returns to the links in two weeks at the Richard Rendleman Invitational held at the Country Club of Salisbury.
 
Team and Individual Scores