Florida Gators
Olympia Fields Invitational
M. Golf Tied for 7th After First Round of Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
Friday, September 18, 2009 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team teed off the 2009 fall season tied for seventh place after the first round of the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational on Friday. The Gators shot a team score of 294 (+14) on the 7,157-yard, par-70 North Course at the Olympia Fields Country Club.
“Today was a little bit unpredictable,” head coach Buddy Alexander said. “This is a new year and so I really didn't know what to expect today but we find ourselves right in the middle of the field. I was really proud of Andres (Echavarria) to bouce back and help us out a little bit. Obviously, Max (Kieffer) played a good round of golf.”
Florida was led by sophomore Max Kieffer (Dusseldorf, Germany), who finished the first round with an even-par 70 to tie for fifth place. Kieffer sandwiched a birdie in between two bogeys in his first nine holes, but after a bogey on the 10th hole, cruised to collect two birdies and six pars.
Redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) struggled in his first nine holes, carding two bogeys and a triple bogey to enter the turn at five-over, but rallied back to collect consecutive pars on the 13th and 14th holes. Echavarria finished the day in a tie for 28th place after scoring a 74 (+4).
Joining Echavarria in 28th place with a four-over 74 was senior Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.). Alexander got off to the best start for the Gators, entering the turn at even-par. However he was challenged on the back nine, tallying five bogeys and one birdie.
Senior Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished the afternoon in a tie for 43rd place after carding a 6-over 76 in the first round. Junior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) rounded out the Gators' lineup, scoring a 77 (+7), good for a tie for 54th.
Please visit www.GatorZone.com or www.golfstat.com for live scoring and updated results as the Gators return to the course on Saturday morning.
Team Scores After Round 1
| Place | School | Score |
| 1 | Northwestern | 286 (+6) |
| 2 | Florida State | 288 (+8) |
| 3 | Texas | 292 (+12) |
| T4 | Illinois | 293 (+13) |
| T4 | San Diego State | 293 (+13) |
| T4 | Arizona State | 293 (+13) |
| T7 | FLORIDA | 294 (+14) |
| T7 | Georgia | 294 (+14) |
| T9 | Stanford | 295 (+15) |
| T9 | Southern California | 295 (+15) |
| T9 | Oklahoma State | 295 (+15) |
| 12 | Augusta State | 298 (+18) |
| 13 | Wake Forest | 300 (+20) |
| T14 | Purdue | 302 (+22) |
| T14 | Indiana | 302 (+22) |
Individual Top 10 Through Round 1
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| T1 | Eric Chun (Northwestern) | 68 (-2) |
| T1 | Seath Lauer (Florida State) | 68 (-2) |
| T1 | Scott Pinckney (Arizona State) | 68 (-2) |
| 4 | Erich Johnston (Purdue) | 69 (-1) |
| T5 | Brian Carter (Georgia) | 70 (E) |
| T5 | Taylor Floyd (Augusta State) | 70 (E) |
| T5 | Max Kieffer (Florida) | 70 (E) |
| T5 | Scott Langley (Illinois) | 70 (E) |
| T5 | Bobby Hudson (Texas) | 70 (E) |
| T10 | 7 players | 71 (+1) |
Florida Results After Round 1
| Place | Player | Score |
| T5 | Max Kieffer | 70 (E) |
| T28 | Tyson Alexander | 74 (+4) |
| T28 | Andres Echavarria | 74 (+4) |
| T43 | Tim McKenney | 76 (+6) |
| T54 | Bank Vongvanij | 77 (+7) |
-UF-
