PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Ty Kaufman won his first tournament of the season and second of his career, capturing first place at the Invite and Innisbrook. His individual win punctuated a great two-day tournament for the Ave Maria Golf team, which finished second in a field of 20 teams.

The Gyrenes found themselves in the middle of the pack after the opening round on Monday, shooting a collective 13-over par. Kaufman led the team at 2-under par, carding three birdies to just one bogey. Alfonso Baro Rosas was next with a +3, followed by Daniel Nycum with a +5 and Neal Wheeler with a +7. Ave Maria was tied for sixth place after the first 18 holes, matching the scores of Ottawa and Campbellsville. As an individual, Kaufman was in a five-way tie for first.

The afternoon round on Monday was the Gyrenes' best round of the tournament, with all four players combining for an even score. Again, it was Kaufman leading the team as he broke away from the other four players he was tied with for first, carding a 4-under par. For the second round this season, Kaufman did not record a single bogey while also logging four birdies. Nycum placed second on the team with an even 71 in the round. Wheeler was third with a +1 and Baro Rosas was fourth with a +3.

The Gyrenes posted the best score in the second round, leading the next team by four strokes. After the middle 18 holes, Ave Maria shot up the leaderboard from tied for sixth to second place.
On the individual leaderboard, the four players tied for first with Kaufman all shots above par in the second round, separating the senior from the pack. At the end of the first day, Kaufman had a five-stroke lead on the next golfer.

In the third and final round, the Gyrenes clung to second place and fended off any team that challenged them. Kaufman and Matt Mullen tied for the team lead on Tuesday, both shooting a 1-over par. Both carded two birdies to three bogeys. Nycum was third on the team with a +3 and Baro Rosas rounded out the group with a +10.

When the dust settled, Ave Maria held onto second place with a total 28-over par, beating third place Reinhardt by just two strokes. They finished behind conference foe Keiser, which won the tournament with a score of 4-over par. The Gyrenes finished ahead of three other Sun Conference schools in Webber, Southeastern and St. Thomas.

Individually, a Keiser golfer came close to Kaufman, but the senior's lead after two rounds was too big to make up, giving him his first individual win of the season and second of his career. His first win was the Marlins Invitational in 2024.

Nycum was next on the leaderboard for Ave Maria in 19^th place, followed by Mullen in 48^th, Baro Rosas in 52^nd and Wheeler in 63^rd.

The Gyrenes will take a week off before returning to the links October 13-14 in the Jupiter Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Keiser. The tournament will be held at Jonathan's Landing and will feature six teams from the Sun Conference. Live scoring of the rounds will be kept on clippd.com.