Sept. 18, 2009

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Florida State senior Seath Lauer shot a two-under par 68 and is in a tie for first place in the individual standings and the No. 25 ranked Seminole men's golf team is in second place after the first round of the Olympia Fields Invitational at the Olympia Fields Country Club. Lauer is one of three players who shot a 68 in the first round and the Seminoles are only two strokes behind Northwestern in the race for the team championship.

The Seminoles are playing for their second consecutive team championship after opening the fall season with a victory at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge during the first week in September. Lauer is also attempting to duplicate the individual placing of teammate Drew Kittleson who finished in a tie for first place in the individual standings at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge.

"We got off to a shaky start but none of the players let that affect them," said head coach Trey Jones. "This course does not let up. You can hit two good shots and have a tough two putt. When you look at the scores with such a great field it is obvious every player and every team will have to deal with an abnormal amount of adversity."

Northwestern, with three players in the top 10 of the individual standings, holds a two stroke lead over Florida State in the team standings. Lauer is tied at the top the leader board with Eric Chun of Northwestern and Scott Pinckney of Arizona State. The Seminoles are currently ahead of seven ranked teams including No. 1 ranked Oklahoma State who is in a tie for ninth place. The Seminoles are seven strokes ahead of the Cowboys heading into the second round. The Seminoles are ranked No. 25 in this week's GolfWorld/Nike Coaches' poll.

Lauer (Huntington, Ind.) birdied the first hole and was under par for the entire first round. He played very consistently throughout the day with three birdies, 14 holes of par and only one bogey. Lauer bogeyed hole No. 16 but made up for his only over par hole of the afternoon with a birdie in the final hole of the day.

"Seath played a great round of golf today," said Jones. "Anything around par is a good score on this golf course. The other guys showed my some composure today."

Sophomore Brooks Koepka, the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year, is in a tie for 17th place in the individual standings after carding a two-over par 72. He enjoyed a much more consistent back nine with a two-under par total after playing his front nine at four over par. Koepka (Wellington, Fla.) found his stroke after carding four consecutive bogeys on holes five through eight. Following hole No. 8, he was two under par for his final 10 holes with two birdies and eight holes of par.

Freshman Doug Letson (Tampa, Fla.) is in a tie for 21st place after carding a three-over par score of 73. He is the only freshman in the Seminoles' line-up for the second consecutive week and is the only Florida State newcomer to play in both of the Seminoles' early season tournaments. Kittleson (Scottsdale, Ariz.) carded a 75 and is in a tie for 36th place and sophomore Wesley Graham (Port Orange, Fla.) is in a tie for 60th place after carding a 78.

"Tomorrow will bring multiple challenges and we will build and learn from all of them," said Jones. "It is hard not to improve in this environment."

Olympia Fields Invitational/Par 70/First Round Florida State Results
Olympia Fields Country Club/Olympia Fields, Ill/Sept. 18-20, 2009
2/15.   Florida State    288
T1.     Seath Lauer      68
T17.    Brooks Koepka    72
T21.    Doug Letson      73
T36.    Drew Kittleson   75
T60.    Wesley Graham    78

Olympia Fields Invitational/Par 70/First Round Florida State Results
Olympia Fields Country Club/Olympia Fields, Ill/Sept. 18-20, 2009
1.    Northwestern     286  T9.    Oklahoma State    295
2.    Florida State    288  T9.    Southern Cal.     295
3.    Texas            292  T9.    Stanford          295
T4.   Illinois         293  12.    Augusta State     298
T4.   San Diego State  293  13.    Wake Forest       300
T4.   Arizona State    293  T14.   Indiana           302
T7.   Florida          294  T14.   Purdue            302
T7.   Georgia          294