Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Men's Golf Ties For 6th At NCAAs; Stegmaier Ties For 20th
Friday, June 4, 2004 | Men's Golf
Sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) spearheaded a late Florida rally as the top-ranked Gators shaved eight strokes off their score on the last three holes en route to finishing in a tie for sixth at the 2004 NCAA Men's Golf Championships on Friday at The Homestead Resort's Cascades Golf Course.
Entering the final three holes of play, the Gators were 40 strokes over par, but led by an eagle and two birdies from Stegmaier, who tied for 20th place, Florida leaped past several teams in posting the program's 26th top-10 finish at NCAAs in 41 total appearances. Facing consistent rain and wind all day, the Gators carded a final round score of 294 (+14) to end the tournament at 1,152 (+32). California won the event by six strokes with a four-round score of 1,134 (+14), while UNLV's Ryan Moore claimed the individual title at 267 (-13) at the par 70, 6,679-yard course.
"We didn't have our best stuff," said Florida coach Buddy Alexander, who notched his 13th career top-10 finish at NCAAs. "We weren't very sharp and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We'd do something pretty good and get a little momentum going and then the next thing you know we'd do something pretty bad. But we also won seven tournaments during the season, so from that standpoint, you have to say that we had a successful year."
For the first time since winning the SEC Championships last season, Stegmaier led the Gators at a tournament with a four-round score of 285 (+5) after a final round 69 (-1). His fourth-round score marked his 14th even or under par round this season, but it wasn't easy. Stegmaier was one-under through the first nine, but then bogeyed four straight holes on the back nine before rallying with an eagle on No. 16 and birdies on the final two holes. It was his fifth top-20 finish this season and an improvement of 32 spots from his NCAA finish last year.
"The whole week was pretty weird," Stegmaier said. "I tried to stay patient all week. That was my goal coming in and I definitely did that today, so I'm pretty proud of where I finished. To finish in the top 20 here is pretty solid. As a team, it's too bad we finished where we did. We thought we were the best team coming in and to not win is pretty disappointing."
Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) suffered through a rough final day with a 78 (+8) to finish at 289 (+9) and in a tie for 30th. But he ended his collegiate career with more than 10 school records to his credit, including the most wins by any player since 1975 (8), the best career stroke average (71.21), best single season stroke average (70.77), which he achieved this season, and the best tournament score and individual round in UF history.
Taking a cue from Stegmaier, freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) knocked off three strokes from his score on the final three holes by notching an eagle on the par 5 No. 16 and a birdie on No. 17 to end the day at 73 (+3). He finished in a tie for 30th with a four-round score of 289 (+9). Mudd's season stroke average of 72.69 will go into the Florida history books as the third best scoring average by a freshman in school history.
Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) concluded his season by finishing in a tie for 44th at 294 (+14). After shooting eight-over on the front nine, Every rebounded to card a two-under 33 to finish at 76 (+6) on the final day. Capping a stellar season at NCAAs, Every's 2003-04 stroke average of 71.26 is the fifth best in school history.
Sophomore James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) improved 22 spots from his finish at NCAAs during his freshman season in tying for 56th. He was five-over after the first nine holes before regrouping to shoot one-over on the back nine to end the round at 76 (+6) at the tournament at 297 (+17).
The 2003-04 Florida Gators ended their season with seven victories, which is the second most by any team in school history. The Gators, who were ranked No. 1 for almost the entire season, also set a school record by finishing in the top five in 13 consecutive tournaments.
TEAM STANDINGS
| Place | Team | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | 4th Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | California | 279 | 289 | 287 | 279 | 1134 | +14 |
| 2. | UCLA | 289 | 283 | 275 | 293 | 1140 | +20 |
| 3. | Arizona | 292 | 281 | 283 | 292 | 1148 | +28 |
| 4. | Texas | 288 | 286 | 289 | 286 | 1149 | +29 |
| 5. | Georgia Tech | 289 | 285 | 287 | 290 | 1151 | +31 |
| T6. | Florida | 285 | 289 | 284 | 294 | 1152 | +32 |
| T6. | Washington | 289 | 282 | 285 | 296 | 1152 | +32 |
| 8. | Kentucky | 283 | 286 | 283 | 303 | 1155 | +35 |
| 9. | BYU | 280 | 290 | 291 | 295 | 1156 | +36 |
| 10. | Pepperdine | 295 | 276 | 289 | 300 | 1160 | +40 |
| T11. | Georgia | 285 | 302 | 284 | 290 | 1161 | +41 |
| T11. | Georgia State | 292 | 280 | 297 | 292 | 1161 | +41 |
| 13. | Oklahoma State | 292 | 289 | 289 | 294 | 1164 | +44 |
| 14. | Texas A&M | 291 | 292 | 284 | 300 | 1167 | +47 |
| 15. | Penn State | 289 | 290 | 290 | 300 | 1170 | +50 |
| T16. | USC | 284 | 298 | 289 | - | 871 | +31 |
| T16. | Purdue | 292 | 285 | 294 | - | 871 | +31 |
| 18. | Clemson | 285 | 290 | 297 | - | 872 | +32 |
| 19. | New Mexico | 291 | 291 | 294 | - | 876 | +36 |
| 20. | TCU | 281 | 292 | 304 | - | 877 | +37 |
| T21. | Arizona State | 292 | 304 | 283 | - | 879 | +39 |
| T21. | Auburn | 283 | 298 | 298 | - | 879 | +39 |
| T21. | Oklahoma | 286 | 295 | 298 | - | 879 | +39 |
| 24. | Kent State | 294 | 288 | 299 | - | 881 | +41 |
| 25. | Toledo | 294 | 292 | 298 | - | 884 | +44 |
| 26. | SMU | 297 | 288 | 302 | - | 887 | +47 |
| 27. | Wichita State | 298 | 304 | 285 | - | 887 | +47 |
| 28. | Vanderbilt | 294 | 303 | 294 | - | 891 | +51 |
| 29. | North Carolina | 294 | 291 | 307 | - | 892 | +52 |
| 30. | Rhode Island | 299 | 311 | 302 | - | 912 | +72 |
* Georgia won a three-way playoff to advance to the final round
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | 4th Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| 1. | R. Moore, UNLV | 67 | 70 | 64 | 66 | 267 | -13 |
| T2. | B. Haas, WF | 70 | 68 | 67 | 68 | 273 | -7 |
| T2. | C. Nallen, Arizona | 69 | 67 | 67 | 70 | 273 | -7 |
| 4. | M. Putnam, Pepp. | 74 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 276 | -4 |
| 5. | T. Johnson, UCLA | 69 | 68 | 68 | 72 | 277 | -3 |
| T6. | J. Holmes, Kent. | 71 | 69 | 67 | 72 | 279 | -1 |
| T6. | M. Leon, Penn St. | 69 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 279 | -1 |
| T8. | J. Hartwick, Texas | 70 | 68 | 72 | 71 | 281 | +1 |
| T8. | M. Wells, Kent. | 68 | 68 | 68 | 77 | 281 | +1 |
| T10. | J. Easterling, WSU | 72 | 74 | 66 | 70 | 282 | +2 |
| T10. | J. Hood, Cal. | 65 | 71 | 77 | 69 | 282 | +2 |
| T10. | S. Kapur, Purdue | 72 | 68 | 70 | 72 | 282 | +2 |
| T10. | R. Moon, UCLA | 71 | 74 | 65 | 72 | 282 | +2 |
| T10. | P. Tomasulo, Cal. | 72 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 282 | +2 |
FLORIDA RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | 4th Round | Total | Over/Under Par |
| T20. | Brett Stegmaier | 71 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 285 | +5 |
| T30. | Camilo Villegas | 72 | 72 | 67 | 78 | 289 | +9 |
| T30. | Jessie Mudd | 69 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 289 | +9 |
| T44. | Matt Every | 75 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 294 | +14 |
| T56. | James Vargas | 73 | 73 | 75 | 76 | 297 | +17 |
