Friday, April 15
St. Simons, GA
All Day
Florida Gators
at
SEC Championship
Freshman Gordon Neale fired a 2-under 68 at the Seaside Course on Friday.
Gordon Neale Leads Florida on Opening Day of SEC Championship
Friday, April 15, 2016 | Men's Golf
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – University of Florida freshman Gordon Neale carded a 2-under 68 at the Sea Island Golf Club on Friday to tie for second and lead the Gators in the opening round of the SEC Championship. The Orange and Blue wrapped up first-round play in third place.
Neale utilized a bogey-free back nine in windy conditions to earn a share of the second-place position and sit just two strokes back of individual leader Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt. He was joined in the top 20 by fellow freshman Sam Horsfield, who overcame a rocky start to post a 1-over 71 to tie for 17th.
On a challenging day when only nine of the 70 golfers shot under par, freshman Jorge Garcia and sophomore Alejandro Tosti both posted rounds of 3-over 73 to tie for 31st. Junior Ryan Orr shot a 4-over 74, highlighted by a strong finish in which he recorded back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16.
As a team, Florida finished Round 1 with a total of 5-over 285. The squad trails Kentucky and Georgia, who are tied for the lead at -3 (277).
The Gators return to the Seaside Course for Round 2 action on Saturday. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m., with the Gator lineup teeing off at 9:10 a.m.
The Orange and Blue Crew: Florida Scores After Round 1
T2. Gordon Neale -2 (68)
T17. Sam Horsfield 1 (71)
T31. Jorge Garcia 3 (73)
T31. Alejandro Tosti 3 (73)
T38. Ryan Orr 4 (74)
Tournament Field Results: Team Standings After Round 1
T1. Georgia -3 (277)
T1. Kentucky -3 (277)
3. FLORIDA 5 (285)
T4. Tennessee 6 (286)
T4. Vanderbilt 6 (286)
6. Texas A&M 7 (287)
7. Arkansas 8 (288)
8. Missouri 9 (289)
9. Auburn 11 (291)
10. South Carolina 12 (292)
T11. Alabama 14 (294)
T11. LSU 14 (294)
13. Ole Miss 21 (301)
14. Mississippi State 24 (304)
Head Coach JC Deacon
On the Gators' performance on Day 1:
"I thought we hung in there and did a really good job on obviously a pretty tough day. It was super windy and not very warm. It was tough all around, and we didn't get off to the best start, but this team has been showing a lot more toughness lately, and that kept us in the game today. We're going to be in the final group tomorrow, and there's nowhere else we'd rather be."
On Gordon Neale's opening round:
"He's just worked so hard, and I'm really proud of him. He's becoming a huge contributor to the team, and he's earning the respect of his teammates. He's helping us a ton. We all knew he was a great player, and now he's showing it on the highest level."
Follow the Gators: Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following the day's play.
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Neale utilized a bogey-free back nine in windy conditions to earn a share of the second-place position and sit just two strokes back of individual leader Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt. He was joined in the top 20 by fellow freshman Sam Horsfield, who overcame a rocky start to post a 1-over 71 to tie for 17th.
On a challenging day when only nine of the 70 golfers shot under par, freshman Jorge Garcia and sophomore Alejandro Tosti both posted rounds of 3-over 73 to tie for 31st. Junior Ryan Orr shot a 4-over 74, highlighted by a strong finish in which he recorded back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16.
As a team, Florida finished Round 1 with a total of 5-over 285. The squad trails Kentucky and Georgia, who are tied for the lead at -3 (277).
The Gators return to the Seaside Course for Round 2 action on Saturday. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m., with the Gator lineup teeing off at 9:10 a.m.
The Orange and Blue Crew: Florida Scores After Round 1
T2. Gordon Neale -2 (68)
T17. Sam Horsfield 1 (71)
T31. Jorge Garcia 3 (73)
T31. Alejandro Tosti 3 (73)
T38. Ryan Orr 4 (74)
Tournament Field Results: Team Standings After Round 1
T1. Georgia -3 (277)
T1. Kentucky -3 (277)
3. FLORIDA 5 (285)
T4. Tennessee 6 (286)
T4. Vanderbilt 6 (286)
6. Texas A&M 7 (287)
7. Arkansas 8 (288)
8. Missouri 9 (289)
9. Auburn 11 (291)
10. South Carolina 12 (292)
T11. Alabama 14 (294)
T11. LSU 14 (294)
13. Ole Miss 21 (301)
14. Mississippi State 24 (304)
Head Coach JC Deacon
On the Gators' performance on Day 1:
"I thought we hung in there and did a really good job on obviously a pretty tough day. It was super windy and not very warm. It was tough all around, and we didn't get off to the best start, but this team has been showing a lot more toughness lately, and that kept us in the game today. We're going to be in the final group tomorrow, and there's nowhere else we'd rather be."
On Gordon Neale's opening round:
"He's just worked so hard, and I'm really proud of him. He's becoming a huge contributor to the team, and he's earning the respect of his teammates. He's helping us a ton. We all knew he was a great player, and now he's showing it on the highest level."
Follow the Gators: Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following the day's play.
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