Florida Gators
NCAA Regionals
Next Stop: Stillwater - Florida Men's Golf Wins Regional to Advance to NCAA Championships
Saturday, May 21, 2011 | Men's Golf
Four members of the Gator men's golf team shot under par for round three to lead Florida to its second-consecutive tournament win at the Southeast Florida Regional at the Golden Ocala Golf Club in Ocala, Fla. on Saturday. With the win, the Gators advance to the NCAA Championships, held in Stillwater, Okla. May 31-June 5.
Redshirt-senior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia), senior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) and sophomores Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) and Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) combined to shoot 11 under par in the third round to surpass defending national champion Augusta State and claim its fifth tournament win of the season—the most wins since 2003-04. Florida has only recorded five or more wins seven other times in the history of the program.
Echavarria shot all three rounds under par to finish nine under for fourth place, but only one stroke behind the three first-place players. He has not finished outside of the top 20 in a tournament this season.
Vongvanij made four birdies and one bogey for a 69 in the third round to finish in a tie for sixth place, his ninth top-10 finish of the season (in 11 tournaments).
Choi was one over for the day going into the 15th hole, but finished the round with three birdies out of four holes to finish the day with a 70 and in a tie for 12th.
Mou recorded a career-low round at four-under par after making six birdies, three bogeys, one triple-bogey and his third eagle of the season.
Junior Michael Furci (Sayville, N.Y.) shot three over par to finish with a 75.
Florida will be joined by Augusta State, Kennesaw State, North Carolina State and Arkansas from the Southeast Regional. Augusta State's Patrick Reed, N.C. State's Mitchell Sutton and Missouri's Jace Long all tied for first on the player leaderboard.
The Gators will have a short rest before they travel to Stillwater, Okla. for the 2011 NCAA Championships on May 31.
Final Team Results
| Place | Team | Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Final (Par) |
| 1 | FLORIDA | 282 | 287 | 277 | 846 (-18) |
| 2 | Augusta State | 290 | 275 | 287 | 852 (-12) |
| 3 | Kennesaw State | 290 | 281 | 282 | 853 (-11) |
| 4 | N.C. State | 284 | 285 | 286 | 855 (-9) |
| 5 | Arkansas | 283 | 287 | 286 | 856 (-8) |
| 6 | Missouri | 294 | 290 | 274 | 858 (-6) |
| 7 | Baylor | 284 | 286 | 289 | 859 (-5) |
| 8 | Georgia Southern | 285 | 286 | 289 | 860 (-4) |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 288 | 290 | 287 | 865 (+1) |
| T10 | Oregon | 285 | 291 | 287 | 873 (+9) |
| T10 | Southeastern Louisiana | 290 | 283 | 300 | 873 (+9) |
| T10 | UCF | 298 | 286 | 289 | 873 (+9) |
| 13 | Jacksonville State | 294 | 292 | 318 | 904 (+40) |
| 14 | Jackson State | 325 | 311 | 307 | 943 (+79) |
Top 10 Individual Results
| Place | Player (School) | Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Final (Par) |
| T1 | Mitchell Sutton (N.C. State) | 68 | 67 | 71 | 206 (-10) |
| T1 | Jace Long (Missouri) | 73 | 71 | 62 | 206 (-10) |
| T1 | Patrick Reed (Augusta State) | 72 | 67 | 67 | 206 (-10) |
| 4 | ANDRES ECHAVARRIA (FLORIDA) | 71 | 68 | 68 | 207 (-9) |
| 5 | Rhys West (Southeastern Louisiana) | 73 | 65 | 70 | 208 (-8) |
| T6 | BANK VONGVANIJ (FLORIDA) | 68 | 72 | 69 | 209 (-7) |
| T6 | Logan Blondell (Georgia Southern) | 69 | 71 | 69 | 209 (-7) |
| T6 | Payne Gniewek (Baylor) | 71 | 69 | 69 | 209 (-7) |
| T6 | Jeff Karlsson (Kennesaw State) | 73 | 69 | 67 | 209 (-7) |
| T10 | Niall Platt (Notre Dame) | 68 | 69 | 73 | 210 (-6) |
| T10 | Philipp Westermann (Southeastern La.) | 67 | 69 | 74 | 210 (-6) |
Florida Results
| Place | Player | Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Final (Par) |
| 4 | Andres Echavarria | 71 | 68 | 68 | 207 (-9) |
| T6 | Bank Vongvanij | 68 | 72 | 69 | 209 (-7) |
| T12 | Phillip Choi | 69 | 73 | 70 | 212 (-4) |
| T29 | Tommy Mou | 74 | 74 | 70 | 218 (+2) |
| T58 | Michael Furci | 74 | 77 | 75 | 226 (+10) |
