TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Florida men’s golf team shot a team score of 580 (+12) on Monday in the first two rounds of the Inverness Invitational at Inverness Country Club to finish the day in sixth place. Senior Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) led the way for the Gators, firing an even par 142 (73-69), to head into the clubhouse in a three-way tie for fifth place.
After opening the tournament with a first round two-over 73, Villegas managed to find his stroke during the second session. He played bogey-free golf, knocking in 10-consecutive pars to jump-start the round. He would later roll in birdies on No. 16 and No. 18 for his only red numbers on the round, turning in a two-under 69. It was his first time to shoot under-par for a round since his first-career win at the
2007 SunTrust Gator Invitational.
“Manny played solid for us today,” head coach Buddy Alexander said. “He missed some putts, but struck the ball very well to give us a good, solid round.”
After shooting a five-over 76 to begin the tournament, sophomore Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) helped keep the Gators in contention with a second round tally of 68 (-3) to finish the day in a tie for
13th-place at two-over (144). His second-round, which included an eagle on the 378-yard, par four No. 11 and four birdies, matches his career-best single round score. Alexander also shot a 68 in the third round of the 2006 Puerto Rico Classic last spring.
Junior Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) went through some ups and downs in his first two rounds of the season, shooting a seven-over 149
(75-74) and currently tied for 34th place.
Two Florida players – redshirt freshman Robbie Wight (Palm Beach, Fla.) and Arnond “Bank” Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) – saw their first collegiate action on Monday. Wight got off to a rocky start in the first round, bogeying four of his first five holes. He would settle down in the second round, shooting even-par through his front nine, but then take a step back, bogeying three of his next four holes. Wight finished the afternoon with a six-over 148 (73-75), perched in a tie for 31st place.
Vongvanij was solid in his first round, shooting two-over and was tied with Villegas for the top spot on the squad. In round two, however, Bank would tally two double-bogeys to go along with six bogeys and just two birdies for a 153 (73-80) on the day. He is currently in a tie for 64th place.
Live scoring and tee times for Tuesday’s final round of the Inverness Invitational, hosted by the University of Toledo, can be found at www. golfstat. com.