Florida Gators
SEC Championship
Tomlinson in Top 10 Entering Final Round of SEC Championship
Saturday, April 18, 2015 | Men's Golf
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Eric Banks, A.J. Crouch and J.D. Tomlinson each improved four strokes during the second round of the SEC Championship on Saturday, keeping the University of Florida men's golf team in seventh place entering the final round at the Sea Island Golf Club.
The Orange and Blue combined to card a 4-under 276 in Round 2 at the Seaside Course, putting the Gators at a total of -2 (558) for the tournament.
Tomlinson birdied six holes and fired a 4-under 66 in Round 2 to climb into the top 10. With a 54-hole score of -4 (136), he's tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard.
Banks recorded a 2-under 68, while Alejandro Tosti posted a 3-over 73. Both at an even-par 140, the pair is tied for 23rd.
Crouch had an under-par day, shooting -1 (69) to total a score of 2-over 142, good for a shared 33rd spot.
With a 17-under 543, Alabama remains at the top of the standings. In the individual contest, South Carolina's Matthew NeSmith held on to first place by shooting a 6-under 64. At -11 (129), he's one stroke ahead of Alabama's Robby Shelton and the rest of the field.
The UF squad has one more chance to move up in the standings on Sunday, when the final round of the SEC Championship tees off at 7:30 a.m.
Head Coach JC Deacon:
On the Gators' Round 2 performance:
“It was so, so close to a big-time round, to our biggest round of the year. J.D. (Tomlinson) continued his exceptional play and had an unbelievable round today. Eric Banks played an outstandingly solid round. A.J. (Crouch) was -4 with three holes to go and just couldn't finish it off. That's the difference between being where we are and being right at the top of the leaderboard, but I'm so proud of all three of the guys. They came out motivated and fired up today and played a great round. We just have to get it to the house.”
On his thoughts entering the final round:
“We need to come out with that same focus and motivation in the morning again. The guys were really ready to go today. We need to stay focused for all 18 holes and keep our energy up for the entire round, and, I think if we do that, we're playing well enough to compete with anyone right now.”
On J.D. Tomlinson competing in his final SEC Championship:
“He's been a rock for us, score-wise. I'm really happy for him being at his last SECs. He's just got to enjoy it. He's in the top 10 right now, but tomorrow's a big day. He knows that, and I know he's going to come out really ready to go tomorrow, so I'm excited to see what he can do.”
The Orange and Blue Crew:
| SEC Championship – Florida Players After Round 2 | ||
| Place | Player | Score |
| T8 | -4 (70-66-136) | |
| T23 | E (72-68-140) | |
| T23 | E (67-73-140) | |
| T33 | +2 (73-69-142) | |
| T65 | +10 (73-77-150) | |
Tournament Field Results:
| SEC Championship – Team Scores after Round 2 | ||
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Alabama | -17 (269-274-543) |
| 2 | LSU | -14 (274-272-546) |
| T3 | South Carolina | -10 (275-275-550) |
| T3 | Vanderbilt | -10 (276-274-550) |
| 4 | Auburn | -9 (275-276-551) |
| 6 | Arkansas | -6 (279-275-554) |
| 7 | FLORIDA | -2 (282-276-558) |
| 8 | Georgia | -1 (282-277-559) |
| 9 | Ole Miss | +6 (288-278-566) |
| T10 | Kentucky | +8 (284-284-568) |
| T10 | Texas A&M | +8 (286-282-568) |
| 12 | Missouri | +10 (287-283-570) |
| 13 | Tennessee | +16 (284-292-576) |
| 14 | Mississippi State | +26 (289-297-586) |
| SEC Championship – Individual Top 10 after Round 2 | ||
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Matthew NeSmith (South Carolina) | -11 (65-64-129) |
| 2 | Robby Shelton (Alabama) | -10 (65-65-130) |
| 3 | Kolton Crawford (Arkansas) | -9 (65-66-131) |
| 4 | Ben Schlottman (Auburn) | -8 (67-65-132) |
| T5 | Ryan Benton (Auburn) | -5 (69-66-135) |
| T5 | Brandon Pierce (LSU) | -5 (67-68-135) |
| T5 | Theo Humphrey (Vanderbilt) | -5 (68-67-135) |
| T8 | J.D. Tomlinson (Florida) | -4 (70-66-136) |
| T8 | Stewart Jolly (LSU) | -4 (68-68-136) |
| T8 | Zach Wright (LSU) | -4 (70-66-136) |
Follow the Gators: The Orange and Blue return to the Sea Island Golf Club Sunday for the final round 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.
