Florida Gators
Mercedes-Benz Collegiate
M. Golf 15th After Opening Round Of The Mercedes-Benz Collegiate
Sunday, February 5, 2006 | Men's Golf
The Florida Men's Golf team opened the 2006 spring season by recording a team score of 320 (+32) at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate. Despite past success at the Sawgrass C.C., the Gators struggled to overcome a slow start on Sunday afternoon and finished the day in 15th place.
Senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) led the team by carding a six-over-par round of 78. Stegmaier is currently tied or 32nd-place and is 10 strokes off the pace set by leader Erik Flores of UCLA. Flores fired a four-under-par score of 68 to lead the field. Stegmaier also led the team with birdies on the fourth, eighth and 11th holes.
Freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) finds himself tied for 44nd after carding a seven-over-par score of 79. Jacksonville native Toby Ragland carded an 82 (+10) in his return home.
Senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) recorded a pair of birdies on the eighth and 12th holes, but finished with a nine-over-par 81. Every, who has placed in the top-five in each of the Gators four tournaments this season, is tied for 55th.
Sophomore Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Columbia) appeared in his third tournament of the season and carded an 82 (+10). Sophomore Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) played as an individual and recorded a score of 85 (+13) to finish the day in 72nd place.
The Gators will try to rebound during the second round on Monday at the Sawgrass C.C. Tee times are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
Team Scores
| Place | School | First Round | Par |
| 1. | UCLA | 290 | +2 |
| 2 | Alabama | 300 | +12 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 301 | +13 |
| 4 | Georgia State | 304 | +16 |
| T5 | North Florida | 308 | +20 |
| T5 | South Carolina | 308 | +20 |
| T5 | LSU | 308 | +20 |
| 8 | Texas-Arlington | 309 | +21 |
| 9 | Missouri | 312 | +24 |
| T10 | Auburn | 313 | +25 |
| T10 | Tennessee | 313 | +25 |
| 12 | Mercer | 317 | +29 |
| 13 | UAB | 318 | +30 |
| 14 | Costal Carolina | 319 | +31 |
| 15 | Florida | 320 | +32 |
Top-10 Players
| Place | Name | School | First Round | Par |
| 1 | Erik Flores | UCLA | 68 | -4 |
| T2 | Andrew Dresser | Texas Tech | 71 | -1 |
| T2 | Oscar Floren | Texas Tech | 71 | -1 |
| 4 | Mark Harrell | Alabama | 72 | E |
| T5 | Lloyd Campbell | Tennessee | 73 | +1 |
| T5 | Kevin Chappell | UCLA | 73 | +1 |
| T7 | Darren Baynes | Georgia St. | 74 | +2 |
| T7 | Florian Fritsch | South Carolina | 74 | +2 |
| T7 | Dustin Johnson | Coastal Carolina | 74 | +2 |
Florida Scores
| Place | Name | First Round | Par |
| T32. | Brett Stegmaier | 78 | +6 |
| T44 | Billy Horschel | 79 | +7 |
| T55 | Matt Every | 81 | +9 |
| T63 | Manuel Villegas | 82 | +10 |
| T63 | Toby Ragland | 82 | +10 |
| T72 | Jessie Mudd | 85 | +13 |
