Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Men's Golf Tied for 15th at NCAA Championships
Thursday, June 2, 2005 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team opened the 2005 NCAA Championships at the Caves Valley Country Club on Wednesday afternoon by firing a nine-over par score of 289 to sit in a tie for 15th-position. The University of Georgia owns the first round lead as the Bulldogs registered a six-under par opening round score of 274.
“Today was not one of our better rounds,” Head Coach Buddy Alexander said. “We didn't have a terrible day but it was not a good day in terms of where we sit in the standings. Despite how we played today we know there is a lot of golf left to be played and we can certainly play better.”
Carding his career-best round in NCAA Championship play, junior James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) led the Gators by carding a three-under par opening round score of 67. The round by Vargas is the best UF round in relation to par in an NCAA Championship since Camilo Villegas fired a three-under par 67 in the third round at last year's NCAA Championships in Hot Springs, Va.
“James played beautifully today,” Alexander said. “He really played well coming down the back nine and really did a nice job.”
The Gator trio of Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) and Richard Treis (Baden-Baden, Germany) each fired four-over par opening round scores of 74. Every and Stegmaier were enjoying steady rounds until the pair found the 12th-hole, while Treis ran into trouble on hole No. 3 and 15. For the duo of Every and Stegmaier, the 12th-hole gave the pair a double and a triple bogey, while Treis recorded a pair of double bogies on No. 3 and 15.
Matching his first round score from the Fall NCAA Preview Tournament on the same course, redshirt freshman Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) carded a five-over par opening round score of 75.
“Having an early tee time tomorrow we should have favorable conditions and we will need to come up with a strong second round performance like we have in the last few tourneys that we have played,” Alexander said. “The second round has proved to be our strongest round recently and I believe that we are fully capable of digging ourselves out of the hole we have placed ourselves in.”
The 2005 NCAA Men's Golf Championships continue tomorrow through Saturday at the Caves Valley Country Club. The Gators will begin the second round on the 10th tee at 8:03 a.m. Second round highlights can be seen from 3-5 p.m. on the Golf Channel. Live scoring and daily updates can be found at www.GatorZone.com.
Team Results:
| Place | Team | Score | Relation to Par |
| 1. | Georgia | 274 | -6 |
| 2. | Tennessee | 279 | -1 |
| 3. | Arizona | 282 | +2 |
| T4. | UNLV | 284 | +4 |
| T4. | Coastal Carolina | 284 | +4 |
| 6. | BYU | 285 | +5 |
| T7. | Georgia Southern | 286 | +6 |
| T7. | Augusta State | 286 | +6 |
| T9. | SMU | 287 | +7 |
| T9. | Georgia State | 287 | +7 |
| T9. | Wake Forest | 287 | +7 |
| T12. | Duke | 288 | +8 |
| T12. | Georgia Tech | 288 | +8 |
| T12. | Arkansas | 288 | +8 |
| T15. | Florida | 289 | +9 |
| T15. | New Mexico | 289 | +9 |
| T15. | Washington | 289 | +9 |
| T18. | Southern California | 290 | +10 |
| T18. | San Diego State | 290 | +10 |
| T18. | Tulsa | 290 | +10 |
| T21. | Kentucky | 291 | +11 |
| T21. | Alabama | 291 | +11 |
| T21. | Arizona State | 291 | +11 |
| 24. | Oklahoma State | 292 | +12 |
| T25. | Stanford | 296 | +16 |
| T25. | Texas A&M | 296 | +16 |
| 27. | Texas | 298 | +18 |
| T28. | Purdue | 299 | +19 |
| T28. | UCLA | 299 | +19 |
| 30. | Missouri | 300 | +20 |
Florida Results:
| Place | Name | Score | Relation to Par |
| T4. | James Vargas | 67 | -3 |
| T87. | Matt Every | 74 | +4 |
| T87. | Brett Stegmaier | 74 | +4 |
| T87. | Richard Treis | 74 | +4 |
| T107. | Manuel Villegas | 75 | +5 |
-UF-
