Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Mudd Leads No. 1 Men's Golf To T7th After 1st Day at NCAAs
Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | Men's Golf
Freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) led an impressive comeback as No. 1 Florida came back from a rough first nine holes to finish in a tie for seventh after the opening round of the 2004 NCAA Men's Golf Championships on Tuesday at The Homestead Resort's Cascades Golf Course.
As a team, the Gators were 11 strokes over par after the first nine holes before shooting six under on the second nine to finish the day at 285 (+5). California leads the competition entering the second day after carding a 279 (-1) in the morning. The Bears are followed by BYU at 280 (E), TCU at 281 (+1), Auburn and Kentucky at 283 (+3), USC at 284 (+4) and Clemson, Florida and Georgia at 285 (+5).
"We got off to a horrid start, but finished pretty well," Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. "I'm proud of the team for coming back, but we have to get off to a better start if we want to be in contention for the title."
Jeff Hood of California leads the race for the individual title by one stroke after shooting a five-under 65 in the first round. He was one of just 19 players to shoot in the red on the first day in the face of swirling afternoon winds at the par 70, 6,679-yard course.
Mudd, who was three-over after the first four holes, rebounded to shoot his 16th even-or-under par round this season and his best in more than two months. He carded five birdies on the day, including four on the second nine, to finish at 69 (-1) and in a tie for ninth. His score tied for the second-best opening round score of his career.
"I was shaky at first, but fortunately for me, the front nine is a little easier than the back nine," said Mudd, as the Gators were one of several teams to start from No. 10. "I was able to calm down and make some birdies. I think the team saw that we were 11-over after the first nine and we realized that we needed to step up if we were going to have a chance at winning NCAAs."
Sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) carded a one-over 71 and is tied for 30th after the first day. Like the rest of the Gators, he started slow and was three-over after six holes, but rebounded by shooting a one-under on the second nine.
Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) posted scores of 36 on both the front and back nines to finish at 72 (+2). Playing in his final collegiate tournament, he enters the second round in a tie for 51st. Sophomore James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) also started slow as he was five-over after the first six holes, but he birdied four holes on the second nine to finish at 73 (+3) and in a tie for 64th. Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) finished at 75 (+5) to round out the Gators after shooting an even-par on the second nine.
The second round of competition continues on Wednesday with the Gators set to tee off at 8:30 a.m.. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | California | 279 | -1 |
| 2. | BYU | 280 | E |
| 3. | TCU | 281 | +1 |
| T4. | Auburn | 283 | +3 |
| T4. | Kentucky | 283 | +3 |
| 6. | USC | 284 | +4 |
| T7. | Florida | 285 | +5 |
| T7. | Clemson | 285 | +5 |
| T7. | Georgia | 285 | +5 |
| 10. | Oklahoma | 286 | +6 |
| 11. | Texas | 288 | +8 |
| T12. | Penn State | 289 | +9 |
| T12. | UCLA | 289 | +9 |
| T12. | Washington | 289 | +9 |
| T12. | Georgia Tech | 289 | +9 |
| T16. | Texas A&M | 291 | +11 |
| T16. | New Mexico | 291 | +11 |
| T18. | Georgia State | 292 | +12 |
| T18. | Purdue | 292 | +12 |
| T18. | Arizona State | 292 | +12 |
| T18. | Arizona | 292 | +12 |
| T18. | Oklahoma State | 292 | +12 |
| T23. | North Carolina | 294 | +14 |
| T23. | Kent State | 294 | +14 |
| T23. | Vanderbilt | 294 | +14 |
| T23. | Toledo | 294 | +14 |
| 27. | Pepperdine | 295 | +15 |
| 28. | SMU | 297 | +17 |
| 29. | Wichita State | 298 | +18 |
| 30. | Rhode Island | 299 | +19 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | Over/Under Par |
| T9. | Jessie Mudd | 69 | -1 |
| T30. | Brett Stegmaier | 71 | +1 |
| T51. | Camilo Villegas | 72 | +2 |
| T64. | James Vargas | 73 | +3 |
| T108. | Matt Every | 75 | +5 |
