Florida Gators
SunTrust Gator Invitational
Men's Golf Leads After 36 Holes at Gator Invitational
Sunday, February 14, 2010 | Men's Golf
The fourth-ranked University of Florida men's golf team is currently leading the field at the 33rd annual SunTrust Gator Invitational. The squad shot a total score of 562 (283-279, +2) after 36 holes of play amidst cold and windy conditions on Saturday at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
“I'm happy with today,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “Of course you never feel comfortable with any lead. I've had some big leads going into final rounds and it didn't turn out the way we had hoped. But I'm pleased with the performance today in some difficult conditions. It was cold out there and the wind was going.”
Senior Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) rose to the top of the leaderboard after being within the top-10 for the majority of the day. His two-round score of 141 (71-70, +1) is good for a tie for first. Alexander began and finished his first round with birdies, while making a bogey on hole 10 and a double bogey on hole 17 to finish one-over. He got off to a rough start in the afternoon, making bogeys on three of his first seven holes, including consecutive bogeys on holes seven and eight. He rallied back to collect birdies on holes 12, 16 and 17 before adding a final bogey on 18 and finish at even par.
Three of the five Gators in Florida's lineup are currently tied for fourth with a 142 (+2). Redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) led the team after the first 18 on Saturday with a 68 (-2). He made birdies on holes one and seven before making a bogey on 11 and a birdie on 12. Echavarria carded a 74 (+4) in his second round. He entered the turn at three-over par after making bogeys on holes five, six and eight before carding one final bogey on hole 11.
Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) also carded a 142 after scoring a 72 (+2) in his first round. The freshman made two bogeys on holes eight and 14 in the morning. Choi carded an even-par 70 in his second round, collecting three birdies and three bogeys. Junior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) also improved his first round score by two strokes in the afternoon. Vongvanij got off to a good start, making consecutive birdies on his fourth and fifth holes before carding four bogeys in his final 12 holes. He made five bogeys and five birdies, including three consecutive on holes 15, 16 and 17, in the afternoon round for an even-par 70.
Senior Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was the most improved from the first round to the second, improving his score by eight strokes. He got in trouble early in the morning, entering the turn at five-over after following a birdie on his first hole with a double bogey on his second and a birdie on six with a triple bogey on seven and a double bogey on eight. Two additional bogeys on his back nine landed him with a seven-over 77 in the morning. He rallied back in the afternoon to shoot a one-under 69. McKenney carded an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys in his second round. He's tied for 22nd with a 146 (+6).
Three Gators are competing as individuals at the Gator Invitational. Freshman Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) is currently tied for 26th with a 147 (78-69, +7), senior Robbie Wight (Palm Beach, Fla.) is tied for 40th with a 149 (75-74, +9) and freshman Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) carded a 153 (75-78, +13) to tie for 56th.
Chattanooga led by a stroke after the first round and is currently in second place with a 571 (282-289, +11). In-state foes Florida State (574, +14) and North Florida (587, +27) round out the top four on the leaderboard. UCF, Duke and Ole Miss are all tied for fifth with a 588 (+28).
The Gators return to action for the third and final round on Sunday. The squad will tee off beginning at 9:10 a.m. Admission to the Gator Invitational is free. Visit www.GatorZone.com or www.golfstat.com for live scoring and updated results.
Team Scores After Round 2
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | FLORIDA | 283-279=562 (+2) |
| 2 | Chattanooga | 282-289=571 (+11) |
| 3 | FSU | 283-291=574 (+14) |
| 4 | UNF | 296-291=587 (+27) |
| T5 | UCF | 296-292=588 (+28) |
| T5 | Duke | 300-288=588 (+28) |
| T5 | Ole Miss | 299-289=588 (+28) |
| 8 | Lamar | 295-294=589 (+29) |
| 9 | UAB | 297-294=591 (+31) |
| 10 | Georgia Southern | 301-291=592 (+32) |
| 11 | LSU | 297-297=594 (+34) |
| T12 | Coastal Carolina | 300-304=604 (+44) |
| T12 | Georgia State | 300-304=604 (+44) |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 302-303=605 (+45) |
Individual Scores After Round 2
| Place | Team | Score |
| T1 | Tyson Alexander (Florida) | 71-70=141 (+1) |
| T1 | John Darby (UAB) | 71-70=141 (+1) |
| T1 | Julian Suri (Duke) | 71-70=141 (+1) |
| T4 | Phillip Choi (Florida) | 72-70=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Andres Echavarria (Florida) | 68-74=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Bank Vongvanij (Florida) | 72-70=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Michael Hebert (FSU) | 67-75=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Nuno Henriques (UCF) | 72-70=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Andrew Loupe (LSU) | 71-71=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Derek Rende (Chattanooga) | 68-74=142 (+2) |
Florida Scores After Round 2
| Place | Team | Score |
| T1 | Tyson Alexander | 71-70=141 (+1) |
| T4 | Andres Echavarria | 68-74=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Bank Vongvanij | 72-70=142 (+2) |
| T4 | Phillip Choi | 72-70=142 (+2) |
| T22 | Tim McKenney | 77-69=146 (+6) |
| T26 | Tommy Mou* | 78-69=147 (+7) |
| T40 | Robbie Wight* | 75-74=149 (+9) |
| T56 | Tyler McCumber* | 75-78=153 (+13) |
* competing as individual
-UF-
