Florida Gators
Sea Best Invitational
A.J. Crouch and the Gators Claim Second Place at Sea Best Invitational
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team earned runner-up honors at the Sea Best Invitational Tuesday, highlighted by A.J. Crouch's second-place performance. The Jacksonville native was one of four Gators to finish in the top 20 of the 81-player field.
Florida shot a 12-over 292 in the final round Tuesday and finished the tournament, held at TPC Sawgrass Dye's Valley Course, with a score of 40-over 880. The champion squad from North Carolina recorded a 33-over 873 to win the event. The Gators finished with a two-stroke advantage over the rest of the 15-team field and defeated four teams that beat them in the fall.
In the individual competition, Crouch shot a 3-over 73 in the final round to total a 2-over 212. He was edged out by UNLV's John Oda, who shot a 3-under 67 Tuesday to win the event with an even 210.
The Orange and Blue's Eric Banks, competing as an individual, tied for fourth place with a score of 6-over 216. Like Crouch, he shot a 3-over 73 Tuesday. Alejandro Tosti and Ryan Orr both finished with a 13-over 223 and share of 17th place.
J.D. Tomlinson recorded a 15-over 225 and tied for 26th, while Ryan Celano had a 20-over 230, good for a tie for 39th place.
The Gators return to action in less than two weeks, when they host the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course Feb. 14-15.
Head Coach JC Deacon:
On the team's performance throughout the tournament:
“Like I said yesterday, we didn't have our best all week, but we found a way to finish our rounds off again today. We had a bunch of late birdies last night and then again today, and it just saved us. That says everything about this team. They don't quit, no matter how bad things are going. When you have that, it gives you a building block to become a championship team.”
On A.J. Crouch's second-place performance:
“A.J. showed a ton of courage today. He didn't have his best stuff and was shooting a couple of loose shots right around the turn, but he made back-to-back birdies in the middle of the back nine that were awesome. He didn't finish his round off the way he wanted to, but to be first in the last tournament in the fall and to be second here are unbelievable accomplishments, and he's really helping the team.”
On defeating teams that beat the Gators in the fall:
“I think it showed the guys where we really are as a team and that we can compete with the best. It's going to take a lot of hard work from now until the end of the year to maintain that, because all of those teams are going to get better. It showed the guys that we're right there and that we can compete with the best teams anywhere.”
The Orange and Blue Crew:
| Sea Best Invitational – Final Florida Players | ||
| Place | Player | Score |
| 2 | +2 (69-70-73-212) | |
| T5 | +6 (72-71-73-216) | |
| T17 | Alejandro Tosti | +13 (78-72-73-223) |
| T17 | +13 (77-75-71-223) | |
| T26 | +15 (71-76-78-225) | |
| T39 | +20 (78-77-75-230) | |
*Denotes playing as an individual
Tournament Field Results:
| Sea Best Invitational – Final Team Scores | ||
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | North Carolina | +33 (288-296-289-873) |
| 2 | FLORIDA | +40 (295-293-292-880) |
| 3 | UNLV | +42 (296-298-288-882) |
| 4 | North Florida | +44 (301-291-292-884) |
| 5 | Florida State | +47 (292-295-300-887) |
| 6 | Texas A&M | +61 (305-300-296-901) |
| 7 | McNeese State | +63 (302-292-309-903) |
| 8 | Tennessee | +65 (302-299-304-905) |
| 9 | Coastal Carolina | +66 (295-309-302-906) |
| T10 | Jacksonville | +73 (299-307-307-913) |
| T10 | Jacksonville State | +73 (304-301-308-913) |
| T10 | Liberty | +73 (303-308-302-913) |
| 13 | Winthrop | +83 (307-304-312-923) |
| 14 | Old Dominion | +90 (308-303-319-930) |
| 15 | USC Upstate | +93 (316-305-312-933) |
| Sea Best Invitational – Final Individual Top 10 | ||
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| 1 | John Oda (UNLV) | E (71-72-67-210) |
| 2 | A.J. Crouch (FLORIDA) | +2 (69-70-73-212) |
| 3 | Jack Maguire (Florida State) | +4 (72-72-70-214) |
| 4 | Tomasz Anderson (Jacksonville State) | +5 (73-72-70-215) |
| T5 | Ben Wheeler (Coastal Carolina) | +6 (70-72-74-216) |
| T5 | Eric Banks* (FLORIDA) | +6 (72-71-73-216) |
| 6 | Chad Merzbacher (Tennessee) | +7 (74-72-71-217) |
| T8 | Robert MacIntyre (McNeese State) | +8 (75-73-70-218) |
| T8 | Ben Griffin (North Carolina) | +8 (68-74-76-218) |
| T8 | Andrew Dorn (Coastal Carolina) | +8 (69-75-74-218) |
| T8 | Carter Jenkins (North Carolina) | +8 (75-73-70-218) |
*Denotes playing as an individual
Follow the Gators: The Gators return to action on Feb. 14 in their only home event of the year, the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
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.
