LAS VEGAS – With a field featuring 11 of the Top 20 teams in the nation, including No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Texas, and competing on one of the toughest courses in the nation, the No. 4 Florida Gators men’s golf team knew it would be tested in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters this weekend.
On Friday, the Gators scored an A+, shooting a tournament-leading 292 (4-over) on the par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club, one of only four courses designed by the late Robert Trent Jones and his son Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Saturday, it was a different story as Florida totaled 326 (38-over) – the worst team total of the day – and slipped into a 10th-place tie with Arizona going into Sunday’s final round of the tournament. The Gators find themselves trailing tourney host UNLV by 25 shots. The Rebels have a 7-shot lead over No. 12 UCLA heading into the final 18 holes. No. 8 Texas A&M is third at 26-over 602, a stroke ahead of No. 18 Southern California.
Only one school – No. 10 Arizona – improved on its first-round total, going from 305 to 303, which left the Sun Devils tied for fifth at 608 with No. 16 Texas Tech, which totaled a second-straight 304. UNLV was one shot off matching its first-round total of 296. Top-ranked Oklahoma State is at 623, 30 shots behind UNLV in 15th place.
“Today was a very humbling day for us,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “It was a day full of a lot of firsts for me as a coach. I’ve never counted an 85 or fallen from first to 10th. Today’s score was the highest score that I can remember. Obviously I am disappointed but maybe tomorrow we can come back and show a little character.”
Senior Tyson Alexander, who shared the first-round lead with Texas Christian’s Johan de Beer at 4-under-par 68, could only manage an 8-over-par 80 that left him in a tie for sixth at 4-over 148, five shots behind co-leaders Jesper Kennegard of Arizona State and T.J. Vogel of Southern California, who both matched par 72 and were at 1-under 143.
Florida’s best effort Saturday was turned in by senior Tim McKenney, who shot 79 for a two-day total of 154, good for a tie of 28th place. Freshman Phillip Choi (82-158) and redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (85-158) were tied for 49th and freshman Tyler McCumber (85-167) was tied for 77th.
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS
At par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club, Las Vegas, Nev.
Team scores: 1. (19) UNLV 593 (296-297) (+17); 2. (12) UCLA 600 (294-306) (+24); 3. (8) Texas A&M 602 (295-307) (+26); 4. (18) Southern California 603 (296-307) (+27); T5. (16) Texas Tech 608 (304-304) (+32) and (10) Arizona State (305-303) (+32); 7. (29) Texas Christian 612 (302-310) (+36); 8. (27) Tennessee 615 (302-313) (+39); 9. (3) Texas 617 (297-320) (+41); T10. (50) Arizona 618 (303-315) (+42) and (4) Florida 618 (292-326) (+42); 12. (13) Georgia 620 (298-322) (+44); 13. (45) New Mexico 621 (305-316) (+45); 14. (15) Georgia Tech 622 (300-322) (+46); 15. (1) Oklahoma State 623 (302-321) (+47).
Top 10 (and ties) Individuals: T1. Jesper Kennegard (Arizona State) 143 (71-72) (-1) and T.J. Vogel (Southern California) 143 (71-72) (-1); 3. Johan de Beer (Texas Christian) 144 (68-76) (E); T4. Gregor Main (UCLA) 147 (70-77) (+3) and Eddie Olson (UNLV) 147 (70-77) (+3); T6. Tyson Alexander (Florida) 148 (68-80) (+4), Cody Gribble (Texas) 148 (72-76) (+4), Brett Kanda (UNLV) 148 (75-73) (+4) and Travis Ross (New Mexico) 148 (75-73) (+4); T10. Dylan Frittelli (Texas) 149 (71-78) (+5), Alex Kim (UCLA) 149 (73-76) (+5) and Andrea Pavan (Texas A&M) 149 (70-79) (+5).
Florida scores: T6. Tyson Alexander 148 (68-80) (+4); T28. Tim McKenney 154 (75-79) (+10); T49. Phillip Choi 158 (76-82) (+14) and Andres Echavarria 158 (73-85) (+14); T77. Tyler McCumber 167 (82-85) (+23).