ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The No. 2 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's golf team finished in sixth place at the LMU Spring Kickoff at St. Johns Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine, Fla. on Tuesday.

The Nighthawks finished a combined nine shots over par as a team to earn the sixth place finish. No. 21 Lander (three-over) and No. 9 Georgia Southwestern (two-over) each came in a few shots ahead of UNG. No. 11 Columbus State and Wingate tied for second place as both programs ended the tournament at nine-under. Host and No. 6 Lincoln Memorial (LMU) won the event with a combined score of 14-under after going 13-under along in round two on Monday.

Sophomore Colby Bennett was the highlight player for the Nighthawks in their first event of the spring portion of the season. The Greensboro, Ga. native recorded three straight 71s (one-under) to finish the event at three-under par and in ninth place on the individual leaderboard. The outing marks his second top-10 finish of the season. 

Senior Ethan Day was UNG's second-best performer of the week thanks to a second-round 66 (six-under) on Monday. Day concluded his play with a six-over 78 on Tuesday to finish tied for 17th place individually.

Senior Hughes Threlkeld played his best golf on Tuesday as he carded a final-round 71 as well, his best outing of the tournament. Threlkeld finished in 28th place individually.

Freshman Jack Rowe made his debut in a non-UNG hosted tournament this week. The newcomer from Clarkesville, Ga. finished in a tie for 51st place after pairing a 74 (two-over) in the opening and final rounds with a 77 on Monday. 

Junior Hunter Smith shined as an individual competitor for the Nighthawks in Florida with rounds of 70, 72 and 73 over 54 holes. He finished in a tie for 12th place among all 100 golfers. Smith has finished 13th place or better in each of his last three tournaments. 

Now UNG will look to regroup after its first finish worse than third place in any event of the year. The Nighthawks will travel to Las Vegas for their next tournament in the Las Vegas Desert Classic at Boulder Creek Golf Club. The tournament begins on Sunday, Mar. 2 and ends on Tuesday, Mar. 4.