The University of Florida men’s golf team will travel to Birmingham, Ala. to compete in the Jerry Pate Invitational Oct. 11 and 12. The tournament is hosted by the University of Alabama at the Old Overton Club. Alabama has won the Jerry Pate Invitational the last four years.
Seniors Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) and Andres Echvarria (Medellin, Colombia) and sophomores Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) and Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) will compete in their second tournament of the 2010-11 season, while sophomore Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) will compete in his first tournament of the season.
The 12-team field at the Jerry Pate Invitational features three teams ranked in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Top 25: Florida (1), Alabama (6) and Auburn (23). Other teams participating include Georgia State, Memphis, Mississippi State, Samford, SMU, Southern Mississippi, South Alabama, UAB and UNLV.
Alabama is the only team Florida has met so far this season. The Crimson Tide finished in fourth place at the Olympia Fields Invitational behind Florida (1), Oklahoma State (T-2) and Augusta State (T-2). They finished 12 strokes behind the Gators, who set a new tournament 54-hole scoring record on the weekend.
The Gators have not played in the Jerry Pate Invitational since 2007, when they finished in fifth place. Their highest finish at the event came in 1988 and 1989, where they recorded second-place finishes both years.
The field will play 54 total holes, 36 on Monday starting at 8:30 ET and 18 on Tuesday for the final round, starting at 1:30 ET. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
