Florida Gators
Golden Ocala Invitational
Echavarria Leads Men's Golf to Golden Ocala Invitational Title
Friday, May 7, 2010 | Men's Golf
Redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) earned the first individual title of his career as he led the Gators to their second team title of the season at the Golden Ocala Invitational. Florida carded a team score of 545 (-31), while Echavarria carded a 36-hole score of 132 (65-67, -12).
“I think our guys came to play and that was the biggest difference,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “Our guys came out ready to compete and they really played great golf. Obviously I'm excited for Andres to get his first collegiate win.”
The Gators finished 29 strokes ahead of second place UNF (578, -2). FSU took third place with a two-over 578, while UCF (579, +3) and USF (601, +25).
UF golfers finished in the top four places on the individual leaderboard. Joining Echavarria was second place Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.), third place Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) and Bank Vongvanij, who finished in fourth.
Both of Echavarria's scores on Thursday were lower than his previous career best, but his first round score of 65 (-7) will stand as a new career low. He followed with a five-under 67 in his second round for a career-best 36-hole score of 132 (-12).
McKenney carded a 67 (-5) and 68 (-4) to finish with a 135 (-9) and finish as the runner up. Alexander shot a 36-hole score of 138 (70-68, -6) and Vongvanij carded identical rounds of 70 (-2) to finish at four-under 140.
Freshman Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) rounded out Florida's lineup by carded a 143 (72-71, -1) and finish in a tie for 11th place. Fellow newcomer Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) competed as an individual and finished in a tie for eighth with a 142 (71-71, -2).
Team Scores
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | FLORIDA | 272-273=545 (-31) |
| 2 | UNF | 288-286=574 (-2) |
| 3 | Florida State | 284-294=578 (+2) |
| 4 | UCF | 286-293=579 (+3) |
| 5 | USF | 303-298=601 (+25) |
Individual Scores
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Andres Echavarria (Florida) | 65-67=132 (-12) |
| 2 | Tim McKenney (Florida) | 67-68=135 (-9) |
| 3 | Tyson Alexander (Florida) | 70-68=138 (-6) |
| 4 | Bank Vongvanij (Florida) | 70-70=140 (-4) |
| T5 | Drew Kittleson (FSU) | 69-72=141 (-3) |
| T5 | Joe Byun (UNF) | 72-69=141 (-3) |
| T5 | Kevin Aylwin* (UNF) | 73-68=141 (-3) |
| T8 | Tommy Mou* (Florida) | 71-71=142 (-2) |
| T8 | Simon Ward (UCF) | 71-71=142 (-2) |
| T8 | David Griffin (USF) | 71-71=142 (-2) |
Florida Scores
| 1 | Andres Echavarria | 65-67=132 (-12) |
| 2 | Tim McKenney | 67-68=135 (-9) |
| 3 | Tyson Alexander | 70-68=138 (-6) |
| 4 | Bank Vongvanij | 70-70=140 (-4) |
| 11 | Phillip Choi | 72-71=143 (-1) |
| T8 | Tommy Mou* | 71-71=142 (-2) |
-UF-
