Gator Country

UF senior T.J. Vogel finished in a tied for 23rd place at the Illini Invitational after shooting a four-over par tournament total. / Gator Country photo by Rodney Rogers

University of Florida men’s golf head coach Buddy Alexander believed his team had a good round left in them going into the final round of the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational on October 2 in Olympia Fields, Ill. The Gators did not let their head coach down, recording a 286 (+6) on the final day of competition to propel them to a second-place finish.

“I said earlier that I believed we had a good day left in us and we did,” Alexander said.

As a team, UF shot the lowest score of any team in the final round. Sparked by the low round, the team moved up four spots on the leaderboard to finish 13 strokes behind first-place Arkansas. Florida finished the three-day tournament in 867 strokes (+27). 

Coming into Tuesday’s final round, senior T.J. Vogel (Cooper City, Fla.) was in a tie for 23rd place. Fueled by six birdies against three bogeys and one double-bogey, Vogel completed the par-70, 7,080 yard course in 68 strokes (-2). With his four-over par tournament total, Vogel recorded his second-straight top-10 finish, coming in a tie for seventh place.

Redshirt sophomore Santiago Gavino (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) rebounded from a tough start to the tournament and recorded a 71 (+1) for the final round. His one-over par round marked the lowest 18-hole score he has registered in his collegiate career.

Freshman A.J. Crouch (Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in a 72 (+2) in his final round of the event. Crouch tallied the first eagle by a Gator this season, recording a two on the par-four 11th hole. Like Vogel and Gavino, Crouch stumbled in the beginning of the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational, but finished the final two rounds at two-over par.

Senior Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) and sophomore J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville, Fla.) finished their final rounds in 75 strokes (+5). McCumber was the second-best finisher for the Gators after posting a 218 (+8) for the tournament, tying for 20th place. Tomlinson finished two strokes behind McCumber, finishing in a tie for 25th place.

“It was a good way to finish against a strong field,” Alexander stated.

UF will resume its fall season on October 15 when the team travels to Birmingham for the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. The two-day tournament will take place at the Old Overton Country Club and will be hosted by the University of Alabama.

Courtesy of UF Communications

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