M. Golf Climb To Seventh At The Mercedes-Benz Collegiate

Monday, February 6

Ponte Vedra, FL

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

Mercedes-Benz Collegiate

M. Golf Climb To Seventh At The Mercedes-Benz Collegiate

Monday, February 6, 2006 | Men's Golf

The No. 4 Florida Men's Golf team rebounded from a slow start at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate by recording a team score of 289 (+1) on Monday. The Gators moved up to seventh-place and find themselves trailing UCLA by 15 strokes for the lead heading into the final round.

Senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) set the pace for the comeback by shooting an even-par 72 during the second round. Stegmaier started his round on the back-nine and recorded birdies on the 10th and 13th holes. He then saved par on seven consecutive holes before making bogey on three of the last eight to finish even on the day. Stegmaier leads the Gators with a total score of 150 (+6), which puts him in a tie for seventh.

Senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) also rebounded well by recording a team-best 71 (-1). Every has carded a score of par-or-under in 10 of his 14 rounds played so far this season and is currently tied for 25th.

Freshmen Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) and Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) both turned in solid performances for the Gators. Horschel made four birdies, including one on the par-five eighth hole to finish at 73 (+1). Ragland recorded a pair of birdies on the front-nine to finish the day at 73 (+1).

Sophomore Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Columbia) finds himself tied for 62nd-place after recording an 80 (+8) on Monday. Sophomore Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) lowered his first round score by five strokes after by carding an 80 (+8). Mudd is playing the tournament as an individual.

Florida caught a break by playing its round early on Monday morning at the Sawgrass C.C.. The wind that caused the Gators problems on Sunday was not a factor during the second round. The Gators leaped over eight teams as a result of higher scores during the later rounds.

“It's not really about what other people do,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “It's just about us playing better than what we did yesterday. Things happen in golf and people have a bad day. You know that these guys have pride and will do whatever it takes to get back in it.

The final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Complete results can be found at www.gatorzone.com or by following live stats at www.golfstat.com.

Team Results

Place	School	Score	Par
1	UCLA	290+304 = 594	+18
2	Texas Tech	301+295 = 596	+20
T3	Georgia State	304+294 = 598	+22
T3	LSU	308+290 = 598	+22
5	Alabama	300+300 = 600	+24
6	South Carolina	308+297 = 605	+29
7	Florida	320+289 = 609	+33
8	Auburn	313+299 = 612	+36
9	North Florida	308+305 = 613	+37
T10	Tennessee	313+301 = 614	+38
T10	Missouri	312+302 = 614	+38
12	Texas-Arlington	309+307 = 616	+40
13	Coastal Carolina	319+300 = 619	+43
14	UAB	318+308 = 626	+50
15	Mercer	317+324 = 641	+65

Top 10 Players

Place	Name	School	Score	Par
T1	Oscar Floren	Texas Tech	71+73 = 144	E
T1	Erik Flores	UCLA	68+76 = 144	E
T3	Kevin Chappell	UCLA	73+73 = 146	+2
T3	Andrew Dresser	Texas Tech	71+75 = 146	+2
T5	Dustin Johnson	Coastal Carolina	74+73 = 147	+3
T5	Steve Tiley	Georgia State	75+72 = 147	+3
T5	Gator Todd	Alabama	75+72 = 147	+3
T5	Chris Wells	LSU	76+71 = 147	+3
9	Florian Fritsch	South Carolina	74+74 = 148	+4
T10	Charles Ford	Tennessee	78+71 = 149	+5
T10	Tim Freund	Georgia State	76+73 = 149	+5
T10	Zack Reeves	Texas-Arlington	75+74 = 149	+5
T10	Matthew Swan	Alabama	78+71 = 149	+5
T10	Beck Troutman	LSU	77+72 = 149	+5

Florida Results

Place	Name	1^st Round	2^nd Round	Total	Par
T15	Brett Stegmaier	78	72	150	+6
T25	Matt Every	81	71	152	+8
T25	Billy Horschel	79	73	152	+8
T42	Toby Ragland	82	73	155	+11
T62	Manuel Villegas	82	80	162	+18
T72	Jessie Mudd	85	80	165	+21