PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Golf team kicked off the 2025-26 season Monday and Tuesday, competing in the Seahawk Shootout at PGA National Resort. The Gyrenes had three players finish in the top 10 in a field of 86 golfers, helping Ave Maria to a second-place finish as a team. The Gyrenes finished 2-over as a group, three strokes behind first place Eastern Florida State and three strokes ahead of third place Keiser.

In the early round on Monday, Ty Kaufman led the team with an impressive 4-under par, shooting a 68. The senior did not record a single bogey in his first set of 18 holes while logging two birdies and an eagle. It was the first bogey-free round of his collegiate career and put him second overall in the tournament, one stroke behind the leader.

Alfonso Baro Rosas and Alex Veneziano tied for second on the team in the first round, each shooting 2-over. Junior transfer Baro Rosas led the team with four birdies in his first ever round as a Gyrene. Neal Wheeler, another transfer to the team, closed out the opening round for the Gyrenes, hitting 3-over. At the end of the first round, Ave Maria was in fourth place with a total of 3-over par.

Ave Maria improved in the afternoon round on Monday, posting a team 1-over par and jumping into third place for the tournament. All four Gyrenes that scored in the second round were within three strokes of each other. Veneziano led the team with a 1-under par, shooting a 71. The junior notched a birdie and an eagle against two bogeys to finish under par. Daniel Nycum, who finished fifth on the team in the opening round, jumped up to second, shooting an even 72 with three birdies. Kaufman and Baro Rosas tied to round out the scores, each shooting a 1-over par.

Heading into the final round on Tuesday, the Gyrenes were five strokes behind Keiser for second place. Ave Maria responded with their best round of the tournament, shooting a collective 2-under par. It was the best team score in the third round, beating Eastern Florida State by two strokes. It was also the first time the Gyrenes have finished under as a team in a round since the final round of the 2024 Sun Conference Championship.

Kaufman led the team for the second time in the tournament with a 3-under par. He logged the most birdies in a round by any Gyrene with five in his final 18 holes of the tournament. Baro Rosas was right behind him with a 2-under par, notching four birdies to two bogeys. Veneziano finished third with 73 and Nycum finished fourth with a 74.

Keiser shot eight strokes worse than Ave Maria in the third round, allowing the Gyrenes to jump them for second place for the whole tournament.

Kaufman finished tied for second for the whole tournament, finishing the three rounds 6-under par. Two more Gyrenes joined him in the top 10 with Baro Rosas tying for seventh and Veneziano tying for 10^th.

Ave Maria is back in action September 22 and 23 as they head up to Lecanto, Florida, to compete in the Battle at Black Diamond, hosted by New College.