Florida Gators
Chris Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
Gators in Fifth at Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
Friday, March 20, 2009 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team shot a four-over par 292 on Friday in the opening round of the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational in Statesboro, Ga. Senior Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) and junior Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) each shot even-par 72 and the Gators are in fifth place heading into the weekend.
Horschel carded a birdie on his opening hole and finished the first nine holes at two-under par, but two bogeys on the back nine dropped him to back to even for the day. McKenney got off to a slow start, shooting four-over par through his first 11 holes, but finished with four birdies in his last six holes to get back to even par.
Junior Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) had four birdies in his round and finished at one-over par 73. Freshman Mu Hu (Shen Zhen, China) shot a 75 (+3) to round out the team score. Senior Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.) shot an 81 (+9).
“The greens here are tricky and the wind was swirling today,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “I think that's why there weren't many low scores today. We can do a better job tomorrow. We're fortunate that nobody ran away from the field today. If we have a good round tomorrow we'll be right in the middle of things on Sunday.”
Tennessee was the only team to finish under par on the first day, carding a 287 (-1), and they lead by three strokes. There are four players tied at three-under par on top of the individual leader board.
The Gators will tee off Saturday beginning at 10:21 a.m. Live scoring is available online at www.golfstat.com.
Team Results
| School | Rd. 1 | To Par | |
| 1 | Tennessee | 287 | -1 |
| 2 | North Florida | 290 | +2 |
| T3 | Georgia Southern | 291 | +3 |
| T3 | South Carolina | 291 | +3 |
| 5 | Florida | 292 | +4 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 293 | +5 |
| 7 | Auburn | 294 | +6 |
| T8 | Georgia State | 295 | +7 |
| T8 | Ole Miss | 295 | +7 |
| T8 | N.C. State | 295 | +7 |
| T11 | Vanderbilt | 296 | +8 |
| T11 | LSU | 296 | +8 |
| T11 | Virginia | 296 | +8 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 297 | +9 |
| 15 | Augusta State | 298 | +10 |
| T16 | North Carolina | 302 | +14 |
| T16 | Iowa | 302 | +14 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 311 | +23 |
Individual Top-10
| Player | School | Rd. 1 | To Par | |
| T1 | Taylor Floyd (ind.) | Augusta State | 69 | -3 |
| T1 | Glenn Northcutt | Auburn | 69 | -3 |
| T1 | Robin Wingardh | Tennessee | 69 | -3 |
| T1 | Sang Yi | LSU | 69 | -3 |
| T5 | Darren Blair | N.C. State | 70 | -2 |
| T5 | Jeff Dennis | North Florida | 70 | -2 |
| T5 | Tom Sherreard | Georgia State | 70 | -2 |
| T8 | Logan Blondell | Georgia Southern | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Sam Braver | South Carolina | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Wesley Bryan | South Carolina | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Will Collins | Virginia | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Matt Hill | N.C. State | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Henrik Norlander | Augusta State | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Chris Paisley | Tennessee | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Jonathan Randolph | Ole Miss | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Andy Winings | Kentucky | 71 | -1 |
| T8 | Ryan Zabroske (ind.) | Georgia Southern | 71 | -1 |
Florida Results
| T18 | Tim McKenney | 72 | E |
| T18 | Billy Horschel | 72 | E |
| T27 | Tyson Alexander | 73 | +1 |
| T45 | Mu Hu | 75 | +3 |
| T92 | Will Strickler | 81 | +9 |
