Florida Gators
Southern Highlands Collegiate
Men's Golf Finishes 2nd; Villegas Wins Southern Highlands
Monday, March 15, 2004 | Men's Golf
Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) tied a school record by winning his seventh career tournament, while the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators finished second on Sunday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate at Southern Highlands Golf Club.
Florida finished two shots behind tournament winner Arizona State as the Gators posted their ninth top-five finish of the season in as many tournaments. The Sun Devils shot a 293 (+5) on Sunday to finish at 848 (-16) for the tournament. Florida shot a 292 (+4) in the final round and ended at 850 (-14) at the par 72, 7,440-yard course.
"Today was a little disappointing because we had our chances," Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. "Still, our plight stayed the same – every time we've played, we've played well and finished high and that's what you're looking for."
Villegas carded a final round score of 69 (-3) to win the tournament by one stroke over Wake Forest's Bill Haas with a three-round score of 205 (-11). His win is the seventh of his career, which ties Villegas with Chris DiMarco for the most in school history. His score by par was the third best of his career and it also tied for the fourth-best score in school history.
"It was a special day for Camilo," Alexander said. "He was very aware of the record and he's already making plans to beat it. He's been a great player for four years here at Florida and I'm very proud of him."
Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) carded a final round 72 (E) to finish in a tie for sixth – his sixth top-10 finish of the season. He shot a three-round total of 211 (-5), which stands as his third-best tournament score of the season.
Florida had three finish inside the top 20 as sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) shot a final round 77 (+5) to end in a tie for 15th at 214 (-2). It was Stegmaier's third top-20 finish in his last four tournaments.
Sophomore Ryan Cochran (Paducah, Ky.) shot a final round 76 (+4) to end up tied for 32nd with a three-round score of 222 (+6), while freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) tied for 61st after his third round score of 75 (+3) left him at 229 (+13) for the tournament.
Florida returns to action when the Gators play in the Schenkel E-Z Go Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club on March 20-21.
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | Arizona State | 279 | 276 | 293 | 848 | -16 |
| 2. | Florida | 277 | 281 | 292 | 850 | -14 |
| 3. | Clemson | 279 | 292 | 288 | 859 | -5 |
| 4. | Georgia | 284 | 286 | 293 | 863 | -1 |
| 5. | Washington | 289 | 284 | 297 | 870 | +6 |
| T6. | UCLA | 282 | 291 | 298 | 871 | +7 |
| T6. | Georgia Tech | 291 | 286 | 294 | 871 | +7 |
| T8. | Wake Forest | 295 | 287 | 293 | 875 | +11 |
| T8. | Arizona | 284 | 290 | 301 | 875 | +11 |
| T8. | UNLV | 289 | 290 | 296 | 875 | +11 |
| 11. | New Mexico | 302 | 283 | 294 | 879 | +15 |
| 12. | Augusta State | 289 | 300 | 298 | 887 | +23 |
| 13. | North Carolina State | 294 | 297 | 298 | 889 | +25 |
| 14. | Auburn | 300 | 297 | 295 | 892 | +28 |
| 15. | North Carolina | 302 | 286 | 306 | 894 | +30 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | Camilo Villegas | 67 | 69 | 69 | 205 | -11 |
| T6. | Matt Every | 71 | 68 | 72 | 211 | -5 |
| T15. | Brett Stegmaier | 68 | 69 | 77 | 214 | -2 |
| T32. | Ryan Cochran | 71 | 75 | 76 | 222 | +6 |
| T61. | Jessie Mudd | 77 | 77 | 75 | 229 | +13 |
