PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 1 University of North Georgia men's golf team finished in second place at the UWF Argonaut Invitational hosted by West Florida on Tuesday. After struggling in the opening round, the Nighthawks charged up the leaderboard in rounds two and three to record their ninth top-three finish this season.

In a field of 15 teams loaded with top-25 talent, UNG beat out seven of the nation's Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches poll teams. Moreover, every single team in the field is either in the top-25 or receiving votes in the poll as of Mar. 22. 

No. 3 Georgia Southwestern won the event with a combined team score of 848 at 16-under-par. UNG followed, six shots back with a 10-under 854. The only other two teams to finish below par, No. 5 Oklahoma Christian and No. 17 West Florida, finished at seven-under and three-under respectively. 

During Tuesday's final round of competition, swirling 20-30 mph winds limited the scoring of all participants. Despite that, the Nighthawks had three top-10 finishes on the individual leaderboard.

It was sophomore Hunter Smith stealing the spotlight by day's end for UNG. The Georgia State transfer has been a key cog in the Nighthawk wheel this season. 

After an uncharacteristic three-over-par 75 in the tournament's opening round, Smith leapfrogged many on the leaderboard with a 67 in round two and a 70 in round three. 

On Tuesday, after falling behind with bogeys at holes four and six, Smith made the turn one shot over par after birdieing at the par-5 eighth. Then he dropped back-to-back birdies on the par-3 11th and par-5 12th to get back below par. He added another birdie at 16 to help end the day two-under. Smith finished tied for fourth in the tournament at four-under-par overall, marking the best finish of his career after three top-20 finishes but zero top-10s prior to Tuesday. 

Junior Jack Vajda tied with No. 2 LMU's Alex James to record the lowest individual final round with a five-under-par 67. Entering the final two holes, Vajda was staring down the barrel of one of the best rounds of the season, and the tournament's best round overall. 

With three birdies on the front nine and four in five holes from 11 to 16 on the back, he sat at seven-under with two holes to play. Bogeys at 17 and 18 dropped him back two shots, but the best final round of the day helped him finish tied for eighth overall. 

Graduate student Will Chambless joined Vajda among the tied for eighth ranks on the leaderboard when all was said and done Tuesday.

He too had a tremendous back nine to help steady a one-over front nine. Chambless birdied five holes on the back including both par-5s at 12 and 14 to finish with a 73 under the treacherous conditions. 

The UWF Argonaut Invitational closes the regular season for the Nighthawks as the team now prepares for the Peach Belt Conference Championship, which they will host, beginning on Friday, Apr. 19. 

UNG will host the event in Augusta, Ga. at Forest Hills Golf club over three days in search of its first ever PBC Tournament Championship.