LAKELAND, Fla. -- Southeastern University men's golf opened the 2026-27 season with a tie for third place at the Coastal Georgia Invitational at Sea Palms Golf Resort. The No. 23 Fire finished the three-round tournament at 3-under par after posting rounds of 8-under, even par, and 5-over. Southeastern finished alongside No. 9 Coastal Georgia, while No. 5 Reinhardt won the tournament at 27-under and No. 16 Blue Mountain Christian placed second at 22-under.
Marley Read and Scott Starbuck led Southeastern with matching 3-under performances to tie for eighth individually. Read opened with consecutive rounds of 3-under 68 before closing with a 74 for a three-round total of 210. Starbuck reached the same total with rounds of 69, 69, and 72.
Gray Ottman gave the Fire their third top-15 finisher, tying for 13th at 1-under par. Ottman opened with a 3-under 68, followed with a 1-under 70, and closed with a 74 to finish at 212.
Etienne Bocquillon tied for 33rd at 5-over after closing the tournament with a 2-under 69, while Max Porteous finished tied for 73rd at 18-over after improving in each round with scores of 79, 77, and 75.
Southeastern recorded 52 birdies during the tournament, tying Coastal Georgia for third-most in the 15-team field. The Fire also ranked third in par-3 scoring at 3.15 and fourth in par-5 scoring at 4.87, playing the par 5s at 8-under for the tournament.
An impressive season opener under their belts, the Fire prepare for the Innisbrook Invite on Sept. 27.
