Men's Golf Tied For 4th At Schenkel Invitational

Saturday, March 22

Statesboro, GA

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

Chris Schenkel Invitational

Men's Golf Tied For 4th At Schenkel Invitational

Sunday, March 23, 2003 | Men's Golf

The No. 9 University of Florida men's golf team responded from a difficult performance two weeks ago at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate, by firing a one-under 575 following the first two rounds of the Chris Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational Saturday. The Gators are tied for fourth with North Carolina State out of 15 teams at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga.

UF shot a one-under 287 in the day's first 18-holes, while shooting an even-par 288 in the second round. It marked the first time since the Gary Koch Invitational last October that the Gators shot two consecutive even-or-under par rounds as a team.

Florida was led by junior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia), who is in a six-way tie for seventh place at -2 (142). Villegas, a finalist for the Ben Hogan National College Player of the Year Award, fired rounds of 72 (E) and 70 (-2) on the day.

Following Villegas were senior Ari Savolainen (Helsinki, Finland) and freshman Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.), as both finished in a six-way tie for 19th after the first two rounds at 144 (E). Savolainen had a rough start to the day by firing a two-over 74, but rebounded nicely with a -2 (70) in the afternoon. Stegmaier got off to a solid start in the first round by firing a one-under 71, but slipped a little in the second round by shooting a 73 (+1).

Fellow freshman James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) finished the first 36 holes in a tie for 41st at +4 (148). Vargas, who is looking to finish in the top-10 of the individual standings for the fourth time in five tournaments this spring, shot rounds of 73 (+1) and 75 (+3).

Senior Dalton Melnyk (Jacksonville, Fla.) was UF's other golfer as he started strong with a -1 (71), but had a rough second round with a 79 (+7) to finish in 54th.

Clemson, the top-ranked team in the country, is in first place of the team standings at -9 (567), while No. 7 Wake Forest is in second at -7 (569). Southeastern Conference rival and 14th-ranked Auburn, rounds out the top-three with a -5 (571).

The final round of the Schenkel Invitational will start at 8 a.m. Sunday.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Clemson 281-286=567 (-9)

2. Wake Forest 285-284=569 (-7)

3. Auburn 286-285=571 (-5)

T4. FLORIDA 287-288=575 (-1)

T4. North Carolina State 288-287=575 (-1)

6. Georgia 289-287=576 (E)

7. South Carolina 293-287=580 (+4)

8. North Carolina 293-288=581 (+5)

T9. Augusta State 290-296=586 (+10)

T9. Tennessee 290-296=586 (+10)