Florida Gators
Florida Gulf Coast Invitational
Crouch Leads Florida Men’s Golf To Second Place After Opening Day of FGCU Classic
Tuesday, October 28, 2014 | Men's Golf
Junior A.J. Crouch led the University of Florida men's golf team to a second-place standing following Round 2 of the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic Monday. Crouch shot a career-low 5-under 67 in the first round and recorded a 3-over 75 in the second round to finish the day tied for first on the leaderboard. The teams played 36 holes today and will complete the tourney with 18 holes tomorrow.
As a team, the Gators got off to a solid start in the morning, finishing the first round in first place with a 3-under 285. The Orange and Blue recorded a 13-over 301 in Round 2 and dropped into the runner-up position. No. 2 Florida State currently sits at the top of the team standings with a 2-over 578.
Freshman Ryan Celano had a consistent day, notching a 1-over 73 and even 72 to finish the afternoon in sixth place. Competing as an individual, freshman Ramsey Touchberry finished the day with a 3-over 147 (77-70) to also gain a top-10 spot.
Sophomore Ryan Orr shot a 5-over 149 (70-79), senior J.D. Tomlinson recorded a 7-over 151 (75-76), senior Thomas Stewart shot a 9-over 153 (75-78) and junior Richard Donegan (competing as an individual) added a 10-over 154 (78-76) after the first two rounds at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club.
The Gators are back in action tomorrow, when the final round of the FGCU Classic tees off at 8:30 a.m.
Assistant Coach John Handrigan :
On the team's performance in the first round:
“I'm very proud of A.J. (Crouch). He's been working hard and he's well-deserving of having a good low round. He got us off to a hot start this morning. Our team shot 3-under in the morning and had a 5-shot lead over Florida State – they're No. 2 in the country right now – so it was a good feeling for us.”
On the team's performance in the second round:
“In the afternoon, we struggled a little bit and got off to a bad start in the round. We tried to play catch-up the whole day. The conditions were a little bit tougher in the afternoon. It was windier, we struggled and finished with 13-over in the afternoon, and now we're eight shots back of Florida State but still in second. The guys are playing with Florida State tomorrow. We just had our team meeting, and they have a lot of intensity and excitement for tomorrow to put in that low round like we did this morning.”
On his expectations entering the final round:
“My expectation is definitely to go out on a very good note to end this fall season, and I think every player needs to worry about himself tomorrow and go out with a good round. I think we can charge to the lead. My expectation is for us to play hard and well.”
The Orange and Blue Crew:
| Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic – Florida Players after Round 2 | ||
| Place | Player | Score |
| T1 | -2 (67-75-142) | |
| 6 | +1 (73-72-145) | |
| T9 | +3 (77-70-147) | |
| T17 | +5 (70-79-149) | |
| T28 | +7 (75-76-151) | |
| T33 | +9 (75-78-153) | |
| T39 | +10 (78-76-154) | |
*Denotes playing as an individual
Tournament Field Results:
| Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic – Team Scores after Round 2 | ||
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Florida State | +2 (290-288-578) |
| 2 | FLORIDA | +10 (285-301-586) |
| 3 | Loyola (Md.) | +17 (299-294-593) |
| 4 | FGCU | +22 (296-302-598) |
| T5 | St. John's | +24 (300-300-600) |
| T5 | Saint Mary's (CA) | +24 (299-301-600) |
| 7 | Stetson | +26 (303-299-602) |
| 8 | Miami (Ohio) | +27 (299-304-603) |
| 9 | Ball State | +38 (315-299-614) |
| 10 | Arkansas State | +40 (306-310-616) |
| 11 | Bethune-Cookman | +51 (318-309-627) |
| T12 | Murray State | +55 (320-311-631) |
| T12 | Florida Atlantic | +55 (322-309-631) |
| 14 | Ohio | +59 (317-318-635) |
| Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic – Individual Top 10 after Round 2 | ||
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| T1 | Josh Lee (Florida State) | -2 (72-70-142) |
| T1 | A.J. Crouch (FLORIDA) | -2 (67-75-142) |
| T1 | Jeremy Wall (Loyola (Md.)) | -2 (72-70-142) |
| 4 | Matt Taylor (Stetson) | -1 (74-69-143) |
| 5 | Jack Maguire (Florida State) | E (71-73-144) |
| 6 | Ryan Celano (FLORIDA) | +1 (73-72-145) |
| T7 | Hank Lebioda (Florida State) | +2 (73-73-146) |
| T7 | McCormick Clouser (Ball State) | +2 (77-69-146) |
| T9 | Matt Oshrine (Loyola (Md.)) | +3 (74-73-147) |
| T9 | Ramsey Touchberry (FLORIDA) | +3 (77-70-147) |
| T9 | Jonathan De Los Reye (St.Mary's) | +3 (74-73-147) |
| T9 | Dylan Crowley (St. John's) | +3 (72-75-147) |
| T9 | Jordan Miller (FGCU) | +3 (72-75-147) |
| T9 | Patrick Flavin (Miami (OH)) | +3 (75-72-147) |
Follow the Gators: Play will continue Tuesday with the third and final round of the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & FGCU Classic at Old Corkscrew Golf Club, where tee times begin at 8:30 a.m. A complete recap with full results will be posted on GatorZone.com following the day's play.
For complete coverage of the Gators' men's golf program, visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Men's Golf page on Facebook.
