Titan men's golf team ready to compete in Panther Invitational

The Eastern Florida State College men's golf team are off to one of the best starts ever, winning the first two tournaments of the spring season.

To make it three in a row, the Titans will have to beat some of the best teams in Division II golf as they compete in the Florida Tech Panther Invitational at Duran Country Club Monday and Tuesday.

The Titans will be the only junior college in the field with No. 2 Lynn University, No. 3 Barry University and No. 4 Florida Southern all competing for the title, but the Titans feel like they are ready for the challenge.

"We will be the only junior college there so it is a different kettle of fish in terms of the quality of players but I feel like we have the kind of team that can compete and get the win," Brad Bawden said. "We have a really good group of lads that are all capable of shooting great scores. We push each other because we are competing every day and want to beat each other, it just makes us better."

Bawden won the Faulkner State Invitational title, leading the Titans with a two-round total of 141. The sophomore believes he is back on track after a bumpy finish to the fall season.

"I realized I had started to force the issue a bit, the start of spring season I was just trying too hard so after the Titan (Invitational) I just wanted to strip it all back and have fun and it worked. I am just going to stick to that, just enjoy the game a little more," Bawden said.

Freshman Mathieu Echelard has also been having some fun this spring as the freshman won the Titan Invitational and finished tied for second at the Faulkner State Invitational. Echelard credits his long game for his fast start and believes he can continue to play well at Duran Country Club.

"I am pretty excited to play at Duran, I like this course and it is a good place for my game," Echelard said. "When we are on the golf course, you see a teammate is 1-under, so I have to get to 1-under. We all want to be the best, it is very competitive."

The tournament begins Monday with 36 holes on the par-72 course that will play up to 7,151 yards. Then Tuesday will be the final round with 18 holes beginning at 7:30 a.m. with an award ceremony to follow.