TUCSON, Ariz. – The Florida men’s golf team opened its spring season with a fourth-place showing in the Arizona Invitational Feb. 1-2 at Arizona National. The Gators finished at 13-under-par 839 in the tournament. California beat host Arizona 823-824 for the title and Fresno State was third at 838, one shot ahead of Florida.
“The one thing I can say about our team is that they are consistent,” Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. “Again, they didn’t play very well based on the fact that the course was sitting there waiting for them. There was no wind, the greens were not firm and the scoring conditions were great.
“If you look at our last four tournaments, we haven’t played poorly, but we haven’t played our best,” Alexander added. “Hopefully we have that to look forward to. Overall, I’m pleased with the consistency, but I’m ready to see something more extraordinary, which is something this team is capable of.”
Tim McKenney earned his first top-10 finish of 2009-10 after carding a 4-under-par 67 on the final day of the tournament. The senior tied for seventh individually with a 6-under-par total of 207 (68-72-67).
Redshirt junior Andres Echavarria and senior Tyson Alexander both finished tied for 16th place at 3-under-par 210. Echavarria carded a 68 in his closing round, while Alexander shot 71.
Bank Vongvanij finished 32nd with a 1-over-par total of 214. Tyler McCumber finished 66th with an 18-over-par 231. Freshman Tommy Mou competed as an individual with a 4-under-par 209, tied for 11th.
“Tommy finished 11th in his first collegiate tournament which was good,” said Alexander. “Last time we played an individual in the fall, Bank finished in a tie for sixth. So it’s been good to get the guys some extra experience and when they’ve played as individuals, they’ve played well.”
The individual crown went to Arizona’s Rich Saferian at 13-under-par 200.
Florida will seek its 24th team title as the host of the SunTrust Gator Invitational Feb. 13-14 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
ARIZONA INVITATIONAL
Arizona National Golf Club at Sabino Springs
Par 71, 6,776 yards
Feb. 1-2, 2010
Final team standings: 1. California 823 (-29) 269-274-280; 2. Arizona 824 (-28) 279-271-274; 3. Fresno State 838 (-14) 284-273-281; 4. Florida 839 (-13) 281-279-279; 5. Texas A&M 841 (-11) 283-277-281; 6. Pepperdine 847 (-5) 284-275-288; 7. UNLV 848 (-4) 292-273-283; 8. Nevada 855 (+3) 280-286-289; 9. New Mexico 858 (+6) 283-277-298; 10. San Diego 860 (+8) 290-286-284; 11. Arizona 864 (+12) 288-285-291; 12. Texas-El Paso 899 (+47) 296-297-306; 13. UTSA 901 (+49) 304-291-306; 14. Northern Colorado 917 (+65) 311-309-297.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Rich Saferian (Arizona) 68-66-66—200 (-13); T2. Bhavik Patel (Fresno State) 69-65-69—203 (-10); T2. Michael Weaver (California) 64-68-71—203 (-10); 4. Jordan Russell (Texas A&M) 66-70-69—205 (-8); T5. Tarquin MacManus (Arizona) 66-73-67—206 (-7); T5. Eric Mina (California) 68-68-70—206 (-7); T7. Tim McKenney (Florida) 68-72-67—207 (-6); T7. Colby Smith (UNLV) 71-66-70—207 (-6); T7. Cameron Peck (Texas A&M) 71-67-69—207 (-6); 10. Chad Vivolo (California) 69-71-68—208 (-5).
Florida scores
T7. Tim McKenney 68-72-67—207 (-6); T16. Andres Echavarria 72-70-68—210 (-3); T16. Tyson Alexander 70-69-71—210 (-3); 32. Bank Vongvanij 71-68-75—214 (+1); T66. Tyler McCumber 77-81-73—231 (+18); T11. Tommy Mou-x 69-70-70—209 (-4).
x-competed as an individual, not with team.