Florida Gators
Mercedes Benz Collegiate
Men's Golf Second After Round 1 At Mercedes-Benz
Sunday, February 8, 2004 | Men's Golf
Despite unfavorable conditions including constant wind gusts of 20 mph and temperatures that hovered in the low 50s, senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) carded an even-par 72 to lead No. 1 Florida as the Gators stand in second place after the opening round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship Sunday afternoon at Sawgrass Country Club.
South Carolina leads the field of 18 teams after a first round 288 (E). Florida came next in line, 11 strokes back at 299 (+11) at the par 72, 6,955-yard course. Just three players managed to shoot in the red on the day as Jason Hartwick of Texas and South Carolina's Erik Johansen and Jake Thompson sit atop the leaderboard after rounds of 71 (-1).
"It was a difficult day to play because the wind was nasty and cold," Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. "We didn't have a great day, but we played solid and we're in a good position to make a run for the rest of the tournament."
Villegas notched his 11th even or under par round of the season after picking up four birdies to finish at 72 and in fourth. Freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) is tied for fifth after also recording four birdies and an opening round score of 73 (+1).
Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) is in a tie for 12th after an opening day round of 74 (+2), while sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) is tied for 48th after shooting an 80 (+8). Sophomore Ryan Cochran (Paducah, Ky.) rounded out the Gators after carding an 89 (+17).
The second round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate will be played on Monday with the final round set for Tuesday. Tee times and live scoring can be found at: www.golfstat.com
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | South Carolina | 288 | E |
| 2. | Florida | 299 | +11 |
| 3. | Tennessee | 303 | +15 |
| 4. | LSU | 305 | +17 |
| 5. | Clemson | 306 | +18 |
| 6. | Oklahoma State | 308 | +20 |
| 7. | Texas | 311 | +23 |
| T8. | Duke | 314 | +26 |
| T8. | Georgia | 314 | +26 |
| 10. | North Carolina State | 315 | +27 |
| T11. | Auburn | 317 | +29 |
| T11. | Kentucky | 317 | +29 |
| 13. | North Florida | 318 | +30 |
| T14. | Northwestern | 319 | +31 |
| T14. | Augusta State | 319 | +31 |
| T14. | North Carolina | 319 | +31 |
| 17. | Vanderbilt | 322 | +34 |
| 18. | Florida State | 326 | +38 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | Over/Under Par |
| 4. | Camilo Villegas | 72 | E |
| T5. | Jessie Mudd | 73 | +1 |
| T12. | Matt Every | 74 | +2 |
| T48. | Brett Stegmaier | 80 | +8 |
| T78. | Ryan Cochran | 89 | +17 |
