Florida Gators
John Hayt Invitational
Choi Tied for First After Round Two of John Hayt Invitational
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 | Men's Golf
Sophomore Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) finished round two of the John Hayt Invitational in a tie for first place on Monday.
Choi made four birdies and an eagle, three bogeys and a double bogey in round two to finish with a 71 and lead the Gators into seventh place.
Choi's highest-career finish came in Florida's last tournament, the Gator Invitational on Feb. 13, when he tied for first and lost in a four-player playoff to teammate Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia).
“I am really proud of Phillip,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “He has been playing really good golf and he keeps getting better and better. I would love to see him get a win tomorrow.”
Senior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) made three birdies on the day, but made a quadruple bogey on hole 15 and sophomore Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) made one birdie, but made a triple-bogey on the 17th hole.
“We had a tough day, we got off to a bad start and could never quite right the ship,” said Alexander. “Lady Sawgrass reared her ugly head and it was a whole different golf course than what we played yesterday.”
Freshman Payne Denman (Riverwatch, Tenn.) improved his score from round one by seven strokes after making one birdie, two bogeys and a double bogey to finish with a 75. Junior Michael Furci (Sayville, N.Y.) shot nine-over par to finish in a tie for 77th.
“Our goal is to try and move up the ladder tomorrow,” said Alexander. “This is a golf course in which anything can happen.”
The Gators are scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m. for the third and final round on Tuesday. Check back to www.GatorZone.com for complete results.
Team Results After Round Two
| Team | To Par | Round One Score | Round Two Score | |
| 1 | Auburn | +1 | 282 | 295 |
| T2 | Arkansas | +8 | 285 | 299 |
| T2 | LSU | +8 | 284 | 300 |
| T2 | Tennessee | +8 | 289 | 295 |
| T5 | UCF | +10 | 289 | 297 |
| T5 | TCU | +10 | 282 | 304 |
| 7 | FLORIDA | +14 | 286 | 304 |
| 8 | Ole Miss | +17 | 293 | 300 |
| T9 | Mercer | +21 | 294 | 303 |
| T9 | Coastal Carolina | +21 | 287 | 310 |
| 11 | Tulsa | +22 | 290 | 308 |
| 12 | UNF | +25 | 292 | 309 |
| 13 | Georgia Southern | +27 | 292 | 311 |
| 14 | Jacksonville | +28 | 307 | 297 |
| 15 | UAB | +33 | 297 | 312 |
Top 10 Individuals After Round Two
| Player (School) | To Par | Round One Score | Round Two Score | |
| T1 | PHILLIP CHOI, FLORIDA | -5 | 68 | 71 |
| T1 | Blayne Barber, Auburn | -5 | 68 | 71 |
| T1 | Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas | -5 | 69 | 70 |
| T4 | Joe David, Ole Miss | -2 | 70 | 72 |
| T4 | Michael Hebert, Auburn | -2 | 69 | 73 |
| T4 | Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss | -2 | 73 | 69 |
| T4 | Robin Wingardh, Tennessee | -2 | 68 | 74 |
| T8 | Connor Arendell, UCF | -1 | 68 | 75 |
| T8 | Scott Roudebush, TCU | -1 | 70 | 73 |
| T8 | Thomas Sutton, UAB | -1 | 68 | 75 |
Florida Results After Round Two
| Player | To Par | Round One Score | Round Two Score | |
| T1 | Phillip Choi | -5 | 68 | 71 |
| T20 | Bank Vongvanij | +3 | 69 | 78 |
| T45 | Tyler McCumber | +7 | 71 | 80 |
| T71 | Payne Denman | +13 | 82 | 75 |
| T77 | Michael Furci | +15 | 78 | 81 |
