ALBANY, Ga. – The No. 1 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's golf team finished the 11th Annual GSW Hurricane Invitational in 12th place out of 15 teams Tuesday afternoon.

No. 7 Florida Southern won the event at 6-under par, marking the first time since 2021 that North Georgia did not take home victory at the Hurricane Invitational after the Nighthawks won the 2022, 2023 and 2024 titles.

No. 11 Columbus State finished in second place at 2-over, followed by the host No. 3 Georgia Southwestern at 4-over. No. 14 USC Beaufort (8-over) and No. 9 Wingate (10-over) rounded out the top five.

Senior Hunter Smith was UNG's top performer on the week. The third-year Nighthawk closed the tournament with a final-round 73 on Tuesday to finish in 37th place individually at 8-over. 

Junior Grant Langford entered the clubhouse with a top-50 performance Tuesday after shooting a 6-over 78 in the final round, ending the invitational in 44th place at 10-over.

Sophomore Jack Rowe also snuck inside the top 50 as he came in 49th place at 11-over. Rowe's week was highlighted by his second-round 72 on Monday as he joined freshman individual Drew Sutherland as the only Nighthawks with a round of even par or better on the week.

Junior Colby Bennett finished in 66th place after a final-round 79 on Tuesday. Sutherland and junior Rhett Smith withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday due to illness. 

Now UNG sets its sights on the Copperhead Championship hosted by defending NCAA Division II National Champion West Florida. The Copperhead Championship – which was canceled last season due to inclement weather – is set to take place Oct. 13-14 at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla.