Florida Gators
SEC Championships
No. 1 Men's Golf Takes 2nd At SECs; Every Ties For 2nd
Sunday, April 18, 2004 | Men's Golf
Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) posted his fifth straight top-five finish in tying for second, while the No. 1 ranked Florida men's golf team finished one stroke back of Georgia to take second on Sunday at the 2004 SEC Championships at the Seaside course at Sea Island Golf Club.
Georgia won the tournament with a three-round score of 843 (+3) after a final day 283 (+3). The Gators, who entered the final round tied with the Bulldogs, were one stroke back at 844 (+4) and 284 (+4). Florida's three-round score is the best in school history for the Gators at the SEC Championships and was just three strokes back of the SEC record. Auburn rounded out the top three at 859 (+19). Georgia's Brendon Todd won the individual title by one stroke over Every and Vanderbilt's Mark Donnell with a score of 207 (-3) at the par 70, 6,898-yard course.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead on the final day as Georgia led by four strokes after the first 15 holes. But the Gators inched closer before Every and Todd played the final hole with Florida trailing by one, but both players finished the tournament with a bogey to give the Bulldogs the team title and Todd the individual title.
"Needless to say, it was a disappointing day for us," said Florida coach Buddy Alexander, who guided the Gators to their fifth top-three finish in the last six years at the SECs. "We didn't seem to have everyone on the same page today. It's pretty painful when you dominate a conference for an entire season and then end up losing by one shot. But we still haven't finished out of the top three this year and this was another good tournament for us."
Florida's performance at the tournament resulted in the 31st top-three finish for the Gators at the event since 1965 – the most by any school. Florida has also now finished in the top three at SECs 15 times in the last 20 years. In addition, the Gators improved their record against teams from the SEC to 50-2-0 this season.
Every ended the event with a three-round score of 208 (-2) after a final round 71 (+1). The top-10 finish was his ninth in 11 stroke play tournaments this season and his fifth consecutive.
Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) finished in the top 20 for the fourth time in as many tries at the event by tying for fifth after a final round 69 (-1) left him at 211 (+1) for the tournament. It was his sixth top-five finish this season and fourth in a row. Villegas has now also finished in the top 20 in 16 of his last 17 tournaments.
"Matt's a good player and he performed well for us, as did Camilo," Alexander said. "Both of our studs stepped up and played well and we expected that."
After entering the final day tied with Every for first, sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) carded a final round 77 (+7) to finish tied for 13th at 214 (+4). It was his fourth top-20 finish this season and his third in the last five tournaments.
Junior Duke Butler IV (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) posted his fourth career top-20 finish by tying for 15th. He shot a final-round score of 71 (+1) to end the tournament at 215 (+5).
Freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) carded a three-over 73 in the final round to wrap up the tournament in a tie for 31st at 221 (+11).
The Gators will next compete at the NCAA Regionals on May 20-22 at the Yale Golf Course in New Haven, Conn.
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | Georgia | 269 | 291 | 283 | 843 | +3 |
| 2. | Florida | 283 | 277 | 284 | 844 | +4 |
| 3. | Auburn | 281 | 284 | 294 | 859 | +19 |
| 4. | Vanderbilt | 295 | 288 | 281 | 864 | +24 |
| 5. | Kentucky | 287 | 293 | 286 | 866 | +26 |
| 6. | Tennessee | 283 | 296 | 289 | 868 | +28 |
| 7. | South Carolina | 294 | 281 | 294 | 869 | +29 |
| 8. | LSU | 298 | 295 | 282 | 875 | +35 |
| 9. | Arkansas | 300 | 296 | 287 | 883 | +43 |
| 10. | Mississippi State | 297 | 302 | 288 | 887 | +47 |
| 11. | Alabama | 280 | 304 | 305 | 889 | +25 |
| 12. | Ole Miss | 302 | 294 | 306 | 902 | +62 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| T2. | Matt Every | 72 | 65 | 71 | 208 | -2 |
| T5. | Camilo Villegas | 70 | 72 | 69 | 211 | +1 |
| T13. | Brett Stegmaier | 72 | 65 | 77 | 214 | +4 |
| T15. | Duke Butler IV | 69 | 75 | 71 | 215 | +5 |
| T31. | Jessie Mudd | 73 | 75 | 73 | 221 | +11 |
