Florida Gators
John Hayt Invitational
Florida in Fifth After Round One of John Hayt Invitational
Monday, February 28, 2011 | Men's Golf
Sophomore Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) led the No. 3 Florida men's golf team to a fifth-place finish after day one and round one on Sunday at the John Hayt Invitational in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
Choi made three birdies, one bogey and an eagle on the 18th hole to shoot four-under par for a score of 68.
The Gators trail three SEC foes in Auburn (tied for first with TCU), LSU (third) Arkansas (fourth). As a team, UF shot two-under par for a score of 286, only four strokes behind leaders Auburn and TCU.
Senior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) also led the Gators with a score of 69 (-3) after making three birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on hole four.
“We had great play out of Phillip and Bank,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “It is a good sign for our team.”
Sophomore Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) finished the day in a tie for 19th after making birdies on holes five and eight, an eagle on hole 11, a double bogey on 13 and bogey on 16.
Junior Michael Furci (Sayville, N.Y.) concluded the day with a 78 and freshman Payne Denman (Riverwatch, Tenn.) recorded an 82 in his Florida tournament debut.
“It was an up and down day,” said Alexander. “Hopefully, Phillip and Bank can keep it up and we can get ourselves back in this tournament.”
The Gators will return to the course on Monday, Feb. 28 for round two at 8 a.m.
Team Results After Round One
| Place | Team | To Par | Round One Score |
| T1 | Auburn | -6 | 282 |
| T1 | TCU | -6 | 282 |
| 3 | LSU | -4 | 284 |
| 4 | Arkansas | -3 | 285 |
| 5 | FLORIDA | -2 | 286 |
| 6 | Coastal Carolina | -1 | 287 |
| T7 | Tennessee | +1 | 289 |
| T7 | UCF | +1 | 289 |
| 9 | Tulsa | +2 | 290 |
| T10 | Georgia Southern | +4 | 292 |
| T10 | UNF | +4 | 292 |
| 12 | Ole Miss | +5 | 293 |
| 13 | Mercer | +6 | 294 |
| 14 | UAB | +9 | 297 |
| 15 | Jacksonville | +19 | 307 |
Top 10 Individuals After Round One
| Place | Player (School) | To Par | Round One Score |
| 1 | John Peterson (LSU) | -5 | 67 |
| T2 | Connor Arendell (UCF) | -4 | 68 |
| T2 | Blayne Barber (Auburn) | -4 | 68 |
| T2 | PHILLIP CHOI (FLORIDA) | -4 | 68 |
| T2 | Thomas Sutton (UAB | -4 | 68 |
| T2 | Robin Windgardh (Tennessee) | -4 | 68 |
| T7 | Johan de Beer (TCU) | -3 | 69 |
| T7 | Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas) | -3 | 69 |
| T7 | Pontus Gad (TCU) | -3 | 69 |
| T7 | Michael Hebert (Auburn) | -3 | 69 |
| T7 | BANK VONGVANIJ (FLORIDA) | -3 | 69 |
Florida Results After Round One
| Place | Player | To Par | Round One Score |
| T2 | Phillip Choi | -4 | 68 |
| T7 | Bank Vongvanij | -3 | 69 |
| T19 | Tyler McCumber | -1 | 71 |
| T75 | Michael Furci | +6 | 78 |
| 84 | Payne Denman | +10 | 82 |
