Florida Gators
Inverness Invitational
Men's Golf Team Win The Inverness Invitational
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida Men's Golf Team overcame a 12-stroke deficit on the final day of the Inverness Invitational to capture its first win of the season. Senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) posted a third-round score of 68 to earn his fourth tournament title.
The Gators shot 287 as a team during the final round, which was 13-strokes better than the nearest competitor in the 15-field tournament. The University of Southern California held lead through the first two rounds on Monday, but followed-up with a 302 to fall behind Florida.
“This was sort of an unexpected win for us,” Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. “We talked about not being out of it last night, but we needed an exceptional round.”
Every came through by earning the Gators' second individual medal at the Inverness Invitational with a total score of 74-71-68 = 213 to finished even on the par-71, 7,255-yard course. Every's most recent first-place finish was at the Mercedes Benz Collegiate on February 22, 2005.
“It's a great way to start the season,” Alexander said. “His round today was pretty incredible. The conditions were tough, it was a little breezy. Consequently, shooting over-par was not that bad.”
Former Gator Camilo Villegas also took home the individual title during Florida's first visit to the Inverness Invitational in 2002. His younger brother and current Gator Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia), had a strong performance with scores of 75-76-76 = 227 (+14) to finish tied for 34th-place.
Freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) notched his first top-10 finish by firing a 75-72-74 = 221 (+8). Senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn) carded scores of 74-76-72 = 222 (+9) to earn his13th career top-15 finish. Senior James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) rounded the Gator lineup by improving six strokes on his opening round score to finish Wednesday with a 73.
Florida has now won three of its last four season-opening tournaments. The Gators' last opening tournament victory was at the 2003 Bank of Tennessee Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Gators return to action on Monday at the Shoal Creek Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. Results, season statistics and pre-match notes can be found at www.gatorzone.com.
-UF-
Inverness Invitational
Toledo, Ohio
Inverness C.C. (par 71, 7,255 yards)
Tuesday September 20, 2005
Team Results
1. Florida 298-295-287 = 880 +28
2. Southern California 289-292-302 = 883 +31
3. Texas 305-286-297 = 888 +36
4. Kent State 296-303-293 = 892 +40
5. Coastal Carolina 300-292-301 = 893 +41
6. Kentucky 298-302-296 = 896 +44
7. Toledo 293-302-304 = 899 +47
Illinois 306-293-300 = 899 +47
9. Ohio State 302-297-302 = 901 +49
10. Nebraska 300-303-307 = 910 +58
11. TCU 302-302-307 = 911 +59
Michigan State 300-308-303 = 911 +59
13. UCF 307-303-302 = 912 +60
14. Vanderbilt 298-304-314 = 916 +64
15. Navy 333-311-322 = 966 +114
Top 10 Individual Results
1. Matt Every, Florida 74-71-68 = 213 E
2. Joshua Wooding, USC 71-70-74 = 215 +2
3. Taylor Wood, USC 69-73-74 = 216 +3
4. Kevin Schultz, Texas 75-69-73 = 217 +4
5. Matt Harmon, Mich. State 72-74-72 = 218 +5
Matthew Mills, Texas 75-70-73 = 218 +5
7. Kyle Hosick, Illinois 75-71-73 = 219 +6
Andy Winings, Kentucky 75-71-73 = 219 +6
9. Ryan Yip, Kent State 73-77-70 = 220 +7
10. Moises Cobo, Coastal Carolina 71-73-77 = 221 +8
Jack Tyler, Ohio State 77-69-75 = 221 +8
Jon Curran, Vanderbilt 72-72-77 = 221 +8
Billy Horschel, Florida 75-72-74 = 221 +8
Florida Results
1. Matt Every 74-71-68 = 213 E
T10. Billy Horschel 75-72-74 = 221 +8
T14. Brett Stegmaier 74-76-72 = 222 +9
T34. Manuel Villegas 75-76-76 = 227 +14
T45. James Vargas 79-78-73 = 230 +17
