Florida Gators
Mercedes Benz Collegiate
No. 1 Men's Golf Ties For Second At Mercedes-Benz
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 | Men's Golf
Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) carded his 12th even or under par round this season and finished tied for fifth to lead No. 1 ranked Florida as the Gators tied for second at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship Tuesday afternoon at Sawgrass Country Club.
South Carolina continued to dominate the tournament on the final day as the Gamecocks shot a final round 284 (-4) to finish at 861 (-3). Florida and Oklahoma State finished 27 strokes back in a tie for second at 888 (+24), while Clemson and Texas tied for fourth at 889 (+25).
Jason Hartwick of Texas claimed medalist honors after shooting five-under in the final round for a three-day total of 211 (-5).
"Today was probably the easiest day to play of the tournament, but we didn't play very well," Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. "It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful either. We're still continuing to get better and we'll improve and move forward. One of the things we talked about at the beginning of the year was consistency and our worst finish this season is a tie for third and that's not too bad."
Villegas entered the final day in a tie for 10th and shot a final round 70 (-2) to earn his 35th career finish inside the top 20. He finished five shots behind Hartwick at 216 (E).
Freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) carded a final round 76 (+4) to finish in a tie for 15th at 221 (+5). Mudd has now finished inside the top 20 in the first six collegiate tournaments to begin his career.
Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) fell next in line for the Gators as he shot a final round 73 (+1) to end the tournament at 225 (+9) in a tie for 33rd. Sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) had five birdies and posted a season-high tying 70 (-2) in the final round to end up tied for 53rd at 230 (+14). Sophomore Ryan Cochran (Paducah, Ky.) rounded out the Gators after shooting an 82 (+10) Tuesday to finish 87th at 247 (+31).
The Gators return to action when Florida travels outside the country Feb. 22-24 for the Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan.
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | South Carolina | 288 | 289 | 284 | 861 | -3 |
| T2. | Florida | 299 | 300 | 289 | 888 | +24 |
| T2. | Oklahoma State | 308 | 289 | 291 | 888 | +24 |
| T4. | Clemson | 306 | 284 | 299 | 889 | +25 |
| T4. | Texas | 311 | 297 | 281 | 889 | +25 |
| 6. | Tennessee | 303 | 299 | 289 | 891 | +27 |
| 7. | LSU | 305 | 300 | 290 | 895 | +31 |
| T8. | North Florida | 318 | 292 | 288 | 898 | +34 |
| T8. | Kentucky | 317 | 288 | 293 | 898 | +34 |
| 10. | Georgia | 314 | 290 | 296 | 900 | +36 |
| 11. | North Carolina State | 315 | 295 | 295 | 905 | +41 |
| 12. | Northwestern | 319 | 297 | 290 | 906 | +42 |
| 13. | Augusta State | 319 | 295 | 297 | 911 | +47 |
| T14. | Duke | 314 | 300 | 300 | 914 | +50 |
| T14. | Auburn | 317 | 304 | 293 | 914 | +50 |
| 16. | North Carolina | 319 | 300 | 296 | 915 | +51 |
| 17. | Florida State | 326 | 298 | 295 | 919 | +55 |
| 18. | Vanderbilt | 322 | 301 | 299 | 922 | +58 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| T5. | Camilo Villegas | 72 | 74 | 70 | 216 | E |
| T15. | Jessie Mudd | 73 | 72 | 76 | 221 | +5 |
| T33. | Matt Every | 74 | 78 | 73 | 225 | +9 |
| T53. | Brett Stegmaier | 80 | 80 | 70 | 230 | +14 |
| 87. | Ryan Cochran | 89 | 76 | 82 | 247 | +31 |
