Florida Gators
Mercedes Benz Collegiate
Mudd Leads No. 1 Men's Golf At Mercedes-Benz
Monday, February 9, 2004 | Men's Golf
Freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) is in contention for the second top-10 finish of his career after leading the No. 1 Florida men's golf team in the second round at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship Monday at Sawgrass Country Club.
Mudd carded a second round 72 (E) at the par 72 6,955-yard course and stands in a tie for sixth at 145 (+1) to lead the Gators, who sit in fourth place entering Tuesday's final round. After recording a first round score of 299 (+11) on Monday, Florida shot a 300 (+12) in the second round for a two-day total of 599 (+23).
South Carolina continued its torrid pace from the opening round and shot a 289 (+1) in the second round for a two-day total of 577 (+1). Clemson is second at 590 (+14), followed by Oklahoma State in third at 597 (+21).
Kentucky's Mark Blakefield, Tennessee's David Skinns and South Carolina's Jake Thompson are all tied at the top of the individual standings at 142 (-2).
"Sooner or later you're going to have a bad day and that's what we had today," Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. "Can we come back and beat South Carolina? That might be a little tough to do, but we can catch up to a few teams. This year, we haven't been in this position going into the final day, so we'll see what we're made of tomorrow."
Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) fell next in line for the Gators after picking up four birdies for the second straight day and shooting a 74 for a two-round score of 146 (+2).
Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) is tied for 31st after a second round score of 78 (+6) left him at 152 (+8). Sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) was even on the back nine and carded his second straight score of 80 to sit in a tie for 66th at 160 (+16), while sophomore Ryan Cochran (Paducah, Ky.) rebounded from a rough opening round to notch three birdies and is tied for 83rd at 165 (+21) after a second round score of 76 (+4).
The third and final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate will be played on Tuesday. Tee times and results can be found at: www.golfstat.com
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | South Carolina | 288 | 289 | 577 | +1 |
| 2. | Clemson | 306 | 284 | 590 | +14 |
| 3. | Oklahoma State | 308 | 289 | 597 | +21 |
| 4. | Florida | 299 | 300 | 599 | +23 |
| 5. | Tennessee | 303 | 299 | 602 | +26 |
| 6. | Georgia | 314 | 290 | 604 | +28 |
| T7. | Kentucky | 317 | 288 | 605 | +29 |
| T7. | LSU | 305 | 300 | 605 | +29 |
| 9. | Texas | 311 | 297 | 608 | +32 |
| T10. | North Carolina State | 315 | 295 | 610 | +34 |
| T10. | North Florida | 318 | 292 | 610 | +34 |
| T12. | Duke | 314 | 300 | 614 | +38 |
| T12. | Augusta State | 319 | 295 | 614 | +38 |
| 14. | Northwestern | 319 | 297 | 616 | +40 |
| 15. | North Carolina | 319 | 300 | 619 | +43 |
| 16. | Auburn | 317 | 304 | 621 | +45 |
| 17. | Vanderbilt | 322 | 301 | 623 | +47 |
| 18. | Florida State | 326 | 298 | 624 | +48 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| T6. | Jessie Mudd | 73 | 72 | 145 | +1 |
| T10. | Camilo Villegas | 72 | 74 | 146 | +2 |
| T31. | Matt Every | 74 | 78 | 152 | +8 |
| T66. | Brett Stegmaier | 80 | 80 | 160 | +16 |
| 83. | Ryan Cochran | 89 | 76 | 165 | +21 |
