Gator Country

Florida senior Andres Echavarria finished fourth for the Florida Gators at the NCAA Regionals in Ocala as he shot nine under par.

Four Gators golfers shot under par in the third round of the NCAA Regionals in Ocala to lead Florida to its second-consecutive tournament on Saturday. With the win, the Gators advance to the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla.

Redshirt-senior Andres Echavarria, senior Bank Vongvanij and sophomores Phillip Choi and Tommy Mou combined to shoot 11 under par in the third round to top defending national champion Augusta State and claim the team’s fifth tournament win of the season – the most wins since 2003-04. Florida has only recorded five or more wins seven other times in the program’s history.

Echavarria shot all three rounds under par to finish fourth at nine under, but he was only one stroke behind the three first-place players. He has not finished outside of the Top 20 in a tournament this season.

Augusta State’s Patrick Reed, N.C. State’s Mitchell Sutton and Missouri’s Jace Long all tied for first.

Vongvanij made four birdies and one bogey for a 69 in the third round to finish in a sixth-place tie, his ninth Top-10 finish of the season.

Choi was one over par in the third round after going into the 15th hole, but finished the round with three birdies out of four holes to finish the day with a 70 and in a tie for 12th.

Mou recorded a career-low round at four-under par after making six birdies, three bogeys, one triple-bogey and his third eagle of the season.

Junior Michael Furci shot three over par to finish with a 75.

Florida will be joined by in Stillwater by Augusta State, Kennesaw State, North Carolina State and Arkansas from the Southeast Regional.

The Gators will have a short rest before they travel to Stillwater on May 31 for the 2011 NCAA Championships.

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