Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Men's Golf Tied for Fifth After 36 Holes at NCAA Championship
Thursday, June 3, 2010 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team jumped two spots on the team leaderboard to finish the second round in a tie for fifth place. The squad, who carded a score of 289 (+1) on day two, currently boasts a team score of even-par 576.
“Today was fine,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “I think we can play better. But any problems today were execution so even though the scores were similar to yesterday, I'm much happier today. The golf course is playing easier than expected based on the scores when the tournament was held in 1996. The greens are soft and not particularly fast. The most important thing for the team to realize is that this is a very scoreable course. There is almost zero wind, which makes for optimal scoring conditions. Hopefully we will go out tomorrow and have another solid day.”
Play was suspended at around 3:30 p.m. ET after there was lightning in the area and was resumed at 5:30 p.m. ET. Unfortunately, not all 30 teams were able to complete their second round before the sun set over The Honors Course. Nine teams will resume play and finish their final holes at 7 a.m ET. The third and final round of stroke play is slated to begin around 9 a.m. ET. The Gators will need to remain in the top eight in order to advance to the match play portion of the tournament.
Redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) was the most improved Gator from the first round to the second, jumping 31 spots on the leaderboard and finishing the day in a tie for 21st. After carding a one-over 73 on Tuesday, Echavarria rallied to card a 70 (-2). Echavarria got off to a strong start, making birdies on four of his first seven holes. His streak ended with a double bogey on eight but bounced back with a birdie on nine to enter the turn at three-under. He carded three bogeys and two birdies on the back nine.
After leading the squad following day one, freshman Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) carded a two-over 74 to tie Echavarria for 21st. After carding a double bogey on the par-four fourth hole, Choi went on to collect nine-straight pars before going birdie, par, double bogey and birdie to conclude the round. He currently has a total score of 143 (69-74, -1).
Seniors Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) and Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) are tied for 43rd with a 36-hole score of 145 (+1). Alexander carded an even-par 72 on Wednesday, tallying four birdies and four bogeys. McKenney, who was even going into today, carded a one-over 73.
Junior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) began his round on a positive note with a birdie but went on to card six bogeys to finish with a 77 (+5). He is tied for 101st with a total score of 150 (+6).
In-state rival Florida State currently leads the pack with a total score of 562 (283-279, -14), while Oklahoma State is five shots back with a 567 (283-284, -9).
Live scoring and official results of Thursday's final round are available at www.GatorZone.com or www.golfstat.com.
Team Results After Round 2
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Florida State | 283-279=562 (-14) |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 283-284=567 (-9) |
| 3 | Georgia Tech | 290-282=572 (-4) |
| 4 | Augusta State | 287-288=575 (-1) |
| T5 | FLORIDA | 287-289=576 (E) |
| T5 | San Diego | 294-282=576 (E) |
| T7 | Clemson | 286-291=577 (+1) |
| T7 | Washington | 289-288=577 (+1) |
| T9 | Arizona State | 286-292=578 (+2) |
| T9 | Oregon | 284-294=578 (+2) |
| 11 | Virginia | 300 – DNF (+12) |
| T12 | Stanford | 292-288=580 (+4) |
| T12 | UCLA | 294-286=580 (+4) |
| 14 | Southern Cal | 295-290=585 (+9) |
| T15 | UNF | 292 – DNF (+4) |
| T15 | Kent State | 292-293=585 (+9) |
| T17 | LSU | 303 – DNF (+15) |
| T17 | Texas | 290-296=586 (+10) |
| T17 | UNLV | 294-292=586 (+10) |
| T20 | Baylor | 294 – DNF (+6) |
| T20 | Texas Tech | 302-285=587 (+11) |
| T20 | California | 293-294=587 (+11) |
| T23 | Oregon State | 295-293=588 (+12) |
| T23 | Illinois | 304 – DNF (+16) |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 285-304=589 (+13) |
| 26 | Tennessee | 297 – DNF (+9) |
| 27 | Duke | 296 – DNF (+8) |
| 28 | Georgia Southern | 297 – DNF (+9) |
| 29 | TCU | 302-296=598 (+22) |
| 30 | Penn State | 301 – DNF (+13) |
Individual Results After Round 2
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Alex Ching (San Diego) | 69-66=135 (-9) |
| T2 | Peter Uihlein (Oklahoma State) | 69-68=137 (-7) |
| T2 | Scott Langley (Illinois) | 70- DNF (-2) |
| T2 | Henrik Norlander (Augusta State) | 68-69=137 (-7) |
| T5 | Paul Haley (Georgia Tech) | 70-69=139 (-5) |
| T5 | Seath Lauer (Florida State) | 69-70=139 (-5) |
| T7 | Morgan Hoffmann (Oklahoma St.) | 70-70=140 (-4) |
| T7 | Drew Kittleson (Florida State) | 70-70=140 (-4) |
| T7 | Gregor Main (UCLA) | 71-69=140 (-4) |
| T7 | Pontus Widegren (UCLA) | 69-71=140 (-4) |
Florida Results After Round 2
| Place | Team | Score |
| T21 | Phillip Choi | 69-74=143 (-1) |
| T21 | Andres Echavarria | 73-70=143 (-1) |
| T43 | Tim McKenney | 72-73=145 (+1) |
| T43 | Tyson Alexander | 73-72=145 (+1) |
| T101 | Bank Vongvanij | 73-77=150 (+6) |
-UF-
