Florida Gators
NCAA National Championship
Florida set for NCAA Championships in Oklahoma
Thursday, May 24, 2018 | Men's Golf
Gators look to ride momentum off of NCAA Regional win in Kissimmee last week
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Gators are set to compete in the NCAA Championships for the 54th time in program history.
This is the third time Karsten Creek Golf Club has played host to the men's championship on two prior occasions in 2003 and 2011. In 2003, Florida tied for fourth in Stillwater.
The first round of play begins Friday from Stillwater, Okla. as 19 of the top 25 in the country advanced to the championships. The Gators will be the six-seed in this tournament, the highest seed the team has earned in the J.C. Deacon era.
Coming off a record-setting performance at the NCAA Regionals in Kissimmee, Fla., UF will continue to ride with the same lineup coach Deacon put out at the SEC Championship and NCAA Regionals.
Andy Zhang out of the No. 2 spot will also look to continue the roll he has been on. After entering the SEC Championship without a win to his name, Zhang has won at both the SECs and the Regionals. Those two wins have helped Zhang shoot up to No. 35 in the GolfStat individual rankings as well as giving him the best stroke average on the team at 70.70.
He is the only first Gator player since Bank Vongvanji in 2011 to capture back-to-back tournament wins and the only player in program history to win the SEC Championship and NCAA Regional in the same year. Zhang is also the only player to accomplish this feat this season.
Florida is looking to claim its first National Championship under the direction of coach Deacon and its fifth in program history. Entering this week, the Gators highest finish under Deacon is 15th which came two years ago.
The Gators will be partnered with a pair of SEC foes in the first two rounds of play in Vanderbilt and Alabama. Alejandro Tosti will be the first Gator to tee off of hole No. 1 at 1:42 p.m. (ET).
Course Information: The tournament is being held at the Par 72, 7,460 yards Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. This is the third time the course has hosted the men's golf championships. In 2011, the Gators finished 23 out of 30 schools and in 2003 Florida tied for fourth at Karsten Creek.
Format: 54-hole stroke play where teams will play three rounds over first three days. The field will be cut to 15 heading after three rounds with the fourth round of stroke determining the final eight for match play.
Tee Times:
Friday Rd. 1 – 1:42 p.m. (ET)
| Player | Hole | Time (ET) |
| Alejandro Tosti | 1 | 1:42 p.m. |
| Chris Nido | 1 | 1:53 p.m. |
| John Axelsen | 1 | 2:04 p.m. |
| Andy Zhang | 1 | 2:15 p.m. |
| Gordon Neale | 1 | 2:26 p.m. |
Coach's Take:
On course challenges:
"It is a phenomenal course and it is in championship level condition. It has really fast greens with good, long par fours. There are some spots to make some birdies for sure. There will probably be a couple players in this field that will shoot some good scores especially if the wind stays down. You just have to be consistent. We just talked about it today. Every part of your game has to be sharp and you can't take one shot off." - Coach J.C. Deacon
On advantages of having players with good distance off the tee:
"It does help but, at the same time accuracy is just as important because you have to put it in play. If you miss big here, you are going to get in some trouble. It helps out guys that can go down to an iron and still be able to hit it out there with the other teams. It is more going to be about which team plays the most consistent for 72 holes." - Coach J.C. Deacon
On confidence coming on after regionals:
"The guys are having so much fun with each other. They are happy and having a good time. They are all playing well and hitting it well. It is fun to be around our team right now. When kids are having fun it makes it a lot easier to perform." - Coach J.C. Deacon
On having a late-early start in round one and two:
"Mark and I played pro golf for a few years and that is the dream. You are kind of hoping for it every week because you can get in a rhythm. You play well in the first round and you can get right back out there and keep it going. If you play bad in round one, you don't have to wait long to go and get it back. It is a nice advantage but, we have worked hard all year to be a top-15 team. That is one of the benefits and we'll hopefully take advantage of it." - Coach J.C. Deacon
On playing with Alabama and Vanderbilt:
"I can't think of a more comfortable pairing than Vanderbilt and Alabama. Our guys know them so well and they know us. It is going to feel like one of the tournaments we played earlier in the year. Those little things are not a huge deal but, help make it a little more comfortable. There's a lot of good things going our way. We just have to go out and be focused, be smart and execute. I'm so excited for this week. I have never had a team playing this well going into a National Championship." Coach J.C. Deacon
The Gators' Lineup
Neale anchors the top of the Florida lineup for the ninth time in the Gators 11 starts this season. The junior has put together the best year of his career with seven top-25 finishes, four top-10 finishes and a stroke average of 70.96.
Zhang has captured medalist honors at each of the last two events (SEC Championship and NCAA Kissimmee Regional). Zhang is the only player in program history to win the conference and NCAA Regional individual tile in the same season
Axelsen was one of three Florida players to finish inside of the top 10 at the NCAA Regional. The Denmark native shot 2-under or better in each of the three rounds to tie for sixth on the individual leaderboard.
Nido is coming off his highest finish of his freshman campaign in Kissimmee. Nido carded a 63 (-9) in the third round to jump up to second place at 12-under, just one stroke off of Zhang.
Tosti makes his fourth straight start out of the No. 5 position after finishing just outside of the top 25 at the NCAA Regionals. He tied for 26th Tosti's highest finish since the Gator Invitational.
Alabama (6)
Arkansas (18)
Arizona State (19)
Auburn (9)
Augusta State (104)
Baylor (11)
BYU (35)
Clemson (14)
Duke (28)
Florida (7)
Illinois (10)
Iowa State (48)
Kansas (37)
Kent State (37)
Kentucky (25)
North Carolina (16)
NC State (38)
North Florida (21)
Northwestern (33)
Oklahoma (3)
Oklahoma State (1)
Oregon (30)
Texas (15)
Texas A&M (2)
Texas Tech (13)
Stanford (17)
UCF (56)
UCLA (26)
UNLV (20)
Vanderbilt (4)
Follow the Action
Play will begin on Friday, May 25th. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following each day's play.
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