Florida Gators
SEC Championship
Tosti leads Gators on Opening Day of SEC Championship
Friday, April 17, 2015 | Men's Golf
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Freshman Alejandro Tosti led the University of Florida men's golf team in Round 1 of the SEC Championship on Friday, posting a season-low 3-under 67 to tie for fifth. As a team, the Gators recorded a 2-over 282 at the Sea Island Golf Club to tie for seventh entering Saturday's second round.
Tosti eagled the seventh hole at the Seaside Course on his way to recording the 67, which was the lowest round of his Florida career. He sits a mere two strokes back of the three leaders.
J.D. Tomlinson posted an even-par 70 on Friday, tying for 23rd and marking his 22nd round of the year at even par or better.
Eric Banks shot a 2-over 72, while A.J. Crouch and Ryan Orr both carded 3-over 73s.
Alabama fired an 11-under 269 and will enter the Saturday's second round with a five-stroke lead over the rest of the SEC field.
Head Coach JC Deacon:
On the team's performance in the opening round:
“I don't think it was a great day for us score-wise, but everyone is giving it his all. Everyone is doing the right things, and I think the scores are going to come. Obviously, it was a great day for Alejandro (Tosti). That was his best round as a Gator. J.D. (Tomlinson) was really solid again. If we keep doing the same things, get off to a little bit better start tomorrow and get under par early in our rounds, I think we have a really good round in us.
On the team's plan for Saturday's second round:
“We have to be really focused right at the start and be ready to make some birdies early. We should be first off on the front nine tomorrow, which is a great tee time, so we have that working in our favor. We just need to come out focused and energized and play our best round of the year.”
The Orange and Blue Crew:
| SEC Championship – Florida Players After Round 1 | ||
| Place | Player | Score |
| T5 | -3 (67) | |
| T23 | E (70) | |
| T39 | +2 (72) | |
| T47 | +3 (73) | |
| T47 | +3 (73) | |
Tournament Field Results:
| SEC Championship – Team Scores after Round 1 | ||
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Alabama | -11 (269) |
| 2 | LSU | -6 (274) |
| T3 | Auburn | -5 (275) |
| T3 | South Carolina | -5 (275) |
| 5 | Vanderbilt | -4 (276) |
| 6 | Arkansas | -1 (279) |
| T7 | FLORIDA | +2 (282) |
| T7 | Georgia | +2 (282) |
| T9 | Tennessee | +4 (284) |
| T9 | Kentucky | +4 (284) |
| 11 | Texas A&M | +6 (286) |
| 12 | Missouri | +7 (287) |
| 13 | Ole Miss | +8 (288) |
| 14 | Mississippi State | +9 (289) |
| SEC Championship – Individual Top 10 after Round 1 | ||
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| T1 | Matthew NeSmith (South Carolina) | -5 (65) |
| T1 | Kolton Crawford (Arkansas) | -5 (65) |
| T1 | Robby Shelton (Alabama) | -5 (65) |
| 4 | Will Starke (South Carolina) | -4 (66) |
| T5 | Jonathan Hardee (Alabama) | -3 (67) |
| T5 | Ben Schlottman (Auburn) | -3 (67) |
| T5 | Alejandro Tosti (Florida) | -3 (67) |
| T5 | Zach Healy (Georgia) | -3 (67) |
| T5 | Tyler McDaniel (Kentucky) | -3 (67) |
| T5 | Brandon Pierce (LSU) | -3 (67) |
Follow the Gators: The Orange and Blue return to the Sea Island Golf Club Saturday for Round 2 of the SEC Championship. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m., and live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com and SECsports.com. 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.
