Florida Gators
Old Waverly Collegiate Championship
Banks Fires Season-Low Round on Opening Day at Old Waverly
Tuesday, April 7, 2015 | Men's Golf
WEST POINT, Miss. – Senior Eric Banks led the Gators to tie for fourth place following the first round of the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship Monday, despite poor weather bookending the opening day of play at Old Waverly Golf Club.
Banks shot a season-best 3-under 69 to tie for fourth place in the individual contest entering the second round. He sits two strokes back of individual leaders Tim Walker and Ben Hood from Mississippi State.
J.D. Tomlinson joined Banks in the top 10, recording a 2-under 70 to tie for sixth.
As a team, Florida posted a 1-over 289 in Round 1 to share fourth place with Cincinnati and Kansas. UF trails leader UAB by four strokes.
The first round was delayed due to lightning and rain, and play was cut short in the second round because of lightning and darkness. All of the teams are through at least nine holes of Round 2. Play will resume at 8:30 a.m. CT Tuesday with the remainder of the second round and the third round.
Assistant Coach John Handrigan:
On the team's performance Monday:
“The best part about these guys is they're listening and they're doing everything we ask them to do. They're really working hard and they're buying into what JC (Deacon) and I are teaching them. Today was a fun day. They really worked hard on the golf course, had great attitudes and represented the University of Florida well.”
On Eric Banks' recording his season-best round:
“Eric's attitude and focus on the golf course have dramatically improved over the last few months, and now it's great that he's starting to see some results. He's really done a great job and turned that around really well, and obviously, if you look at his scorecard, it really paid off today.”
On the team's focus entering the final day of competition:
“They have a great game plan that we went over in the practice round. Their focus, commitment and attitudes have been phenomenal, so we talked about that. We're not worrying about what place we're in right now or how many strokes back we are or if we can win this tournament. We're just focusing on the little things we can control. I think these guys are going to have a great day tomorrow.”
The Orange and Blue Crew:
| Old Waverly Collegiate Championship – Florida Players After Round 1 | ||
| Place | Player | Score |
| T4 | -3 (69) | |
| T6 | -2 (70) | |
| T42 | +3 (75) | |
| T42 | +3 (75) | |
| T51 | +4 (76) | |
Tournament Field Results:
| Old Waverly Collegiate Championship – Team Scores after Round 1 | ||
| Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | UAB | -3 (285) |
| 2 | Ole Miss | -2 (286) |
| 3 | Mississippi State | -1 (287) |
| T4 | Cincinnati | +1 (289) |
| T4 | FLORIDA | +1 (289) |
| T4 | Kansas | +1 (289) |
| 7 | South Alabama | +3 (291) |
| 8 | Chattanooga | +5 (293) |
| T9 | Louisiana-Lafayette | +9 (297) |
| T9 | Memphis | +9 (297) |
| 11 | Southeastern Louisiana | +10 (298) |
| 12 | UNC-Greensboro | +11 (299) |
| 13 | Troy | +12 (300) |
| 14 | Louisiana Tech | +13 (301) |
| 15 | Southern Miss | +15 (303) |
| Old Waverly Collegiate Championship – Individual Top 10 after Round 1 | ||
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| T1 | Tim Walker (Mississippi State) | -5 (67) |
| T1 | Ben Wood (Mississippi State) | -5 (67) |
| 3 | Lee Hodges (UAB) | -4 (68) |
| T4 | Eric Banks (Florida) | -3 (69) |
| T4 | Joe Lewis (Ole Miss) | -3 (69) |
| T6 | Tyler Klava (South Alabama) | -2 (70) |
| T6 | Blake Morris (Ole Miss) | -2 (70) |
| T6 | JD Tomlinson (Florida) | -2 (70) |
| T6 | Paul Dunne (UAB) | -2 (70) |
| T6 | Daniel Hudson (Kansas) | -2 (70) |
| T6 | Jared Howard (Cincinnati) | -2 (70) |
| T6 | Liam Johnston (Chattanooga) | -2 (70) |
Follow the Gators: Play will continue Tuesday with the remainder of the second round and the final round of the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship at the Old Waverly Golf Club. Live scoring will be available on Birdiefire.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.
