Florida Gators
Inverness Invitational
Men's Golf Climbs Three Spots, Finishes Third At Inverness Invitational
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team used a second-consecutive score of 69 (-2) from senior Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) on Tuesday to make a late run at the Inverness Invitational, finishing in 3rd place with a team score of 869 (+17). The Gators, who entered the day in sixth place, finished seven strokes behind winner Florida State's mark of 862 (+10). UF's final-round 289 finish was the lowest team total of the day.
“We played well today and it showed because we were in the mix to win the golf tournament,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “For the first tournament of the year, we battled hard.”
Villegas tallied five birdies in his final round, sinking three out of his last four holes. The third-place showing is Villegas' third collegiate top-5 finish, along with his runner-up finish in the 2006 Inverness and top spot in the 2007 SunTrust Gator Invitational.
Sophomore Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) picked up his first career top-10 finish, wrapping up the tournament with a score of 217 (+4) after a final-round two-over 73. He matched his four bogeys with four birdies, but scored a double-bogey on the 481-yard, par-4 No. 7 for the third consecutive round.
After his second-consecutive round of 73, redshirt freshman Robbie Wight (Palm Beach, Fla.) turned in eight straight pars in his final round for a 22nd-place tie with a score 221 (+8) in his first collegiate tournament.
Junior Toby Ragland (Jacksonville , Fla.) struggled to find a rhythm, registering five bogeys and a double-bogey for a six-over 77. He tied for 44th place, finishing with a scorecard of 75-74-77 = 226 (+13). Freshman Arnond “Bank” Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) bounced back from his nine-over, second-round tally by rounding out the Gators' lineup on Tuesday with a two-over 73. His total of 73-80-73 = 226 (+13) tied him for 44th place with Ragland, a 20-spot improvement from where he began the round.
“There were a lot of quality teams in this field, and we were able to beat some of the really good ones,” Alexander said. “We have two freshmen who just got great experience and some older guys that finished strong.”
Florida will return to action on Friday, Sept. 14, as they head to Dalton, Ga., for the Carpet Capital Collegiate, hosted by Georgia Tech at The Farm.
Final Team Scores
| Place | School | Scores |
| 1. | Florida State | 287-281-294 = 862 (10) |
| 2. | Michigan State | 282-289-297 = 868 (+16) |
| 3. | FLORIDA | 296-284-289 = 869 (+17) |
| 4. | Texas A&M | 292-287-294 = 873 (+21) |
| 5. | Louisville | 290-288-297 = 875 (+23) |
| 6. | Indiana | 285-294-302 = 881 (+29) |
| 7. | Oklahoma State | 299-295-290 = 884 (+32) |
| 8. | Southern California | 293-289-304 = 886 (+34) |
| 9. | TCU | 290-294-308 = 892 (+40) |
| 10. | Toledo | 299-287-309 = 895 (+43) |
| 11. | Kent State | 300-299-300 = 899 (+47) |
| 12. | UNLV | 302-307-293 = 902 (+50) |
| 13. | Kentucky | 304-288-314 = 906 (+56) |
| 14. | Missouri | 311-291-306 = 908 (+56) |
| 15. | Michigan | 307-297-305 = 909 (+57) |
| 16. | N.C.-Greensboro | 306-310-315 = 931 (+79) |
Individual Top-10
| Place | Player | Score |
| T1. | Jonas Blixt (Florida State) | 67-68-75 = 210 (-3) |
| T1. | Ryan Brehm (Michigan State) | 70-67-73 = 210 (-3) |
| T3. | MANUEL VILLEGAS (FLORIDA) | 73-69-69 = 211 (-2) |
| T3. | Steve Cuzzort (Michigan State) | 70-73-68 = 211 (-2) |
| T5. | Seth Brandon (Indiana) | 71-73-70 = 214 (+1) |
| T5. | Matthew Savage (Florida State) | 75-68-71 = 214 (+1) |
| T7. | Martin Piller (Texas A& M) | 69-72-74 = 215 (+2) |
| T7. | Andy Winings (Kentucky) | 76-67-72 = 215 (+2) |
| 9. | Andrea Pavan (Texas A&M) | 72-71-73 = 216 (+3) |
| T10. | TYSON ALEXANDER (FLORIDA) | 76-68-73 = 217 (+4) |
| T10. | Derek Fathauer (Louisville) | 72-74-71 = 217 (+4) |
Florida Results
| Place | Player | Score |
| T3. | Manuel Villegas | 73-69-69 = 211 (-2) |
| T10. | Tyson Alexander | 76-68-73 = 217 (+4) |
| T22. | Robbie Wight | 75-73-74 = 222 (+9) |
| T44. | Toby Ragland | 75-74-77 = 226 (+13) |
| T44. | Arnond “Bank” Vongvanij | 73-80-73 = 226 (+13) |
-UF-
