Florida Gators
Gary Koch Invitational
Men's Golf Finishes Gary Koch Invitational Tied for Third
Sunday, October 4, 2009 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team wrapped up the Gary Koch Invitational in a tie for third place on Sunday at the Old Memorial Golf Club. The Gators carded their highest team round of the weekend with a 292 for a total score of 852 (277-283-292, -12).
“I thought that Florida State played great,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “I would say it was an average showing for our team but we learned a lot. I learned a lot about the team and we will work on some things as we prepare for the Isleworth Invitational.”
The squad was led by redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia), who carded his highest score of the weekend with an even-par 72, but managed to climb three spots on the leaderboard. Echavarria finished the weekend with a total score of 211 (70-69-72, -5). Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) was one of three Gators to card 13 birdies this weekend, but the senior fell to a tie for 17th after going into the round in a tie for 7th. Alexander carded a 54-hole score of 213 (67-71-75, -3).
Freshman Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) finished in a tie for 24th after carding a four-over 76 on Sunday for a final score of 215 (68-71-76, -1). Choi tallied 13 birdies in the final round of his first collegiate tournament. Joining Choi in a tie for 24th was fellow freshman Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), who had the best round among Gators on Sunday. McCumber rallied to shoot a 70 (-2) in his final round for a total score of 215 (73-72-70, -1). He was the fifth of six Gators to finish the tournament under par.
“I'm pretty pleased with the freshmen's performance this weekend,” Alexander said. “I know this was a learning process for them and I'm certain that they'll take what they learned this weekend and get better.”
Sophomore Max Kieffer (Dusseldorf, Germany) rounded out Florida's lineup in a tie for 64th place with a 225 (72-78-75, +9). Kieffer shot the first eagle for the Gators in 2009 in the final round on Sunday.
Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) had the best finish among his teammates with a tie for 6th, but earned the finish as an individual. Vongvanij matched his second round score with a one-under 71 on Sunday for a 54-hole score of 209 (67-71-71, -7). The junior had the best finish among all individual competitors.
“I have to give a shout out to Bank,” said Alexander. “He had a good showing and I'm happy for him. He will have many more chances to be a part of our top-five, especially if he continues to play the way that he is playing.”
Florida State claimed the team title, setting a new tournament record with an 834 (274-280-280, -30). Auburn's Kyle Kopsick also recorded a new 54-hole individual tournament record with a 201 (72-63-66, -15). The previous record of 205 was set by Florida's Matt Every in 2003.
Team Scores After Round 3
| Place | School | Score |
| 1 | Florida State | 274-280-280=834 (-30) |
| 2 | Texas Tech | 271-279-300=850 (-14) |
| T3 | FLORIDA | 277-283-292=852 (-12) |
| T3 | Virginia | 282-279-291=852 (-12) |
| 5 | North Florida | 290-281-283=854 (-10) |
| 6 | Augusta State | 286-278-291=855 (-9) |
| 7 | Auburn | 290-280-288=858 (-6) |
| 8 | LSU | 275-293-293=861 (-3) |
| 9 | Georgia Southern | 281-283-298=862 (-2) |
| 10 | Mississippi | 285-285-296=866 (+2) |
| 11 | Kentucky | 288-285-297=870 (+6) |
| 12 | East Tennessee St. | 294-283-294=871 (+7) |
| 13 | North Carolina | 281-288-305=874 (+10) |
| 14 | UAB | 287-287-303=877 (+13) |
| 15 | South Florida | 295-302-305=902 (+38) |
Individual Top 10 Through Round 3
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| 1 | Kyle Kopsick (Auburn) | 72-63-66=201 (-15) |
| 2 | Seth Lauer (Florida State) | 66-67-70=203 (-13) |
| 3 | John Peterson (LSU) | 67-67-70=204 (-12) |
| 4 | Brooks Koepka (Florida State) | 68-70-67=205 (-11) |
| 5 | Chris Ward (Texas Tech) | 69-67-72=208 (-8) |
| T6 | Bank Vongvanij (Florida)* | 67-71-71=209 (-7) |
| T6 | Henrik Norlander (Augusta State) | 71-67-71=209 (-7) |
| T6 | Ben Kohles (Virginia) | 68-70-71=209 (-7) |
| 9 | Chris Kennedy (North Florida) | 70-69-71=210 (-6) |
| T10 | 4 players | 211 (-5) |
Florida Results After Round 3
| Place | Player | Score |
| T10 | Andres Echavarria | 70-69-72=211 (-5) |
| T17 | Tyson Alexander | 67-71-75=213 (-3) |
| T24 | Phillip Choi | 68-71-76=215 (-1) |
| T24 | Tyler McCumber | 73-72-70=215 (-1) |
| T64 | Max Kieffer | 72-78-75=225 (+9) |
| T6 | Bank Vongvanij* | 67-71-71=209 (-7) |
*playing as an individual
-UF-
