Wednesday, March 9
Las Vegas, NV
All Day
Florida Gators
at
Southern Highlands Collegiate
Sam Horsfield won the Southern Highlands Collegiate by four strokes.
Horsfield Collects Huge Win at Southern Highlands Collegiate
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | Men's Golf
LAS VEGAS - University of Florida freshman golfer Sam Horsfield defeated four of the top six golfers in the country at the Southern Highlands Collegiate on Wednesday to pick up his second individual title in his last three tournaments. The Gators staged an impressive comeback to finish as the runner-up among the 15-team field that featured four top-five squads and nine top-20 teams.
As a team, Florida shot the second-lowest round of the day, a 4-over 292. They closed the Southern Highlands Collegiate with a 9-over 873 to remain four strokes shy of winner No. 8 USC.
Horsfield, ranked seventh by Golfweek and named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list, posted a 2-under 70 in Round 3 to clinch the win. His total of 7-under 209 earned him a four-stroke edge over runner-up Sean Crocker (USC). The victory marked his sixth top-five finish this season and fourth consecutive top-three performance. Wednesday's round at Southern Highlands Golf Club was the freshman's ninth-straight round at par or better.
Freshman Jorge Garcia posted a 4-over 76 to finish 19th and pick up his sixth-straight top-20 finish. Sophomore Alejandro Tosti opened the day with four-straight birdies on holes 2-5. He went on to birdie the ninth hole and make the turn at 5-under par. A challenging back nine brought his round total back to an even-par 72, a big contribution on a day when only seven golfers carded under-par scores.
Freshman Kyler Tate also got off to a hot start in the morning, collecting back-to-back birdies on holes 2-3. For the second day in a row, his round was highlighted by a solid finish. Tate carded eight-straight pars to wrap up the day with a 2-over 74.
The Gators return to action March 21-22 at the Valspar Collegiate in Palm City, Fla.
Head Coach JC Deacon:
On Sam Horsfield's individual title:
"That's an elite win. He beat the best players in college golf on probably the best venue we could face, and it's just a testament to his skill and the way he thinks about the game. I'm just so happy for him. He came to Florida and wanted to win more, and he's starting to do it. I'm just really, really happy for him and his family."
On the team's performance in Round 3:
"We were awesome today. We really were. From top to bottom, all five of the guys played their butts off, gave it their all and really, really played well. We played some high-quality golf, but it just didn't work out. We had flaws. Ryan Orr made a triple on 18, and we had a couple of other mistakes on the back nine. Other than that, I thought we should have won. The tournament was ours, but looking forward, this was a national championship-caliber field. We were right in the mix, and that's where we want to be come late May."
The Orange and Blue Crew: Final Florida Scores
1. Sam Horsfield -7 (69-70-70=209)
T19. Jorge Garcia 5 (73-72-76=221)
T51. Ryan Orr 11 (78-73-76=227)
T51. Kyler Tate 11 (75-78-74=227)
DQ Alejandro Tosti (DQ-71-72=143)*
*Tosti was disqualified from Round 1 on Monday, but his Round 2 and 3 scores were still eligible to count for the team.
Tournament Field Results: Final Team Standings
1. USC (8) 5 (869)
2. FLORIDA (2) 9 (873)
3. Oklahoma (17) 15 (879)
T4. Arizona State (14) 18 (882)
T4. Texas (5) 18 (882)
6. Texas Tech (39) 21 (885)
7. Oklahoma State (10) 22 (886)
T8. Illinois (1) 23 (887)
T8. SMU (35) 23 (887)
10. Oregon (28) 24 (888)
11. California (18) 25 (889)
12. UNLV (33) 27 (891)
13. Alabama (4) 30 (894)
14. TCU (52) 33 (897)
15. UCLA (32) 60 (924)
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As a team, Florida shot the second-lowest round of the day, a 4-over 292. They closed the Southern Highlands Collegiate with a 9-over 873 to remain four strokes shy of winner No. 8 USC.
Horsfield, ranked seventh by Golfweek and named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list, posted a 2-under 70 in Round 3 to clinch the win. His total of 7-under 209 earned him a four-stroke edge over runner-up Sean Crocker (USC). The victory marked his sixth top-five finish this season and fourth consecutive top-three performance. Wednesday's round at Southern Highlands Golf Club was the freshman's ninth-straight round at par or better.
Freshman Jorge Garcia posted a 4-over 76 to finish 19th and pick up his sixth-straight top-20 finish. Sophomore Alejandro Tosti opened the day with four-straight birdies on holes 2-5. He went on to birdie the ninth hole and make the turn at 5-under par. A challenging back nine brought his round total back to an even-par 72, a big contribution on a day when only seven golfers carded under-par scores.
Freshman Kyler Tate also got off to a hot start in the morning, collecting back-to-back birdies on holes 2-3. For the second day in a row, his round was highlighted by a solid finish. Tate carded eight-straight pars to wrap up the day with a 2-over 74.
The Gators return to action March 21-22 at the Valspar Collegiate in Palm City, Fla.
Head Coach JC Deacon:
On Sam Horsfield's individual title:
"That's an elite win. He beat the best players in college golf on probably the best venue we could face, and it's just a testament to his skill and the way he thinks about the game. I'm just so happy for him. He came to Florida and wanted to win more, and he's starting to do it. I'm just really, really happy for him and his family."
On the team's performance in Round 3:
"We were awesome today. We really were. From top to bottom, all five of the guys played their butts off, gave it their all and really, really played well. We played some high-quality golf, but it just didn't work out. We had flaws. Ryan Orr made a triple on 18, and we had a couple of other mistakes on the back nine. Other than that, I thought we should have won. The tournament was ours, but looking forward, this was a national championship-caliber field. We were right in the mix, and that's where we want to be come late May."
The Orange and Blue Crew: Final Florida Scores
1. Sam Horsfield -7 (69-70-70=209)
T19. Jorge Garcia 5 (73-72-76=221)
T51. Ryan Orr 11 (78-73-76=227)
T51. Kyler Tate 11 (75-78-74=227)
DQ Alejandro Tosti (DQ-71-72=143)*
*Tosti was disqualified from Round 1 on Monday, but his Round 2 and 3 scores were still eligible to count for the team.
Tournament Field Results: Final Team Standings
1. USC (8) 5 (869)
2. FLORIDA (2) 9 (873)
3. Oklahoma (17) 15 (879)
T4. Arizona State (14) 18 (882)
T4. Texas (5) 18 (882)
6. Texas Tech (39) 21 (885)
7. Oklahoma State (10) 22 (886)
T8. Illinois (1) 23 (887)
T8. SMU (35) 23 (887)
10. Oregon (28) 24 (888)
11. California (18) 25 (889)
12. UNLV (33) 27 (891)
13. Alabama (4) 30 (894)
14. TCU (52) 33 (897)
15. UCLA (32) 60 (924)
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