University of Florida golfers Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.), Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) and Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) led the Gator men’s golf team to a first-place finish after the first two rounds of the Jerry Pate Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. on Monday. McCumber, Vongvanij and Choi finished in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively.
In the first round, McCumber made two birdies and two bogeys. In the second round, he made five birdies, including four in the span of five holes for a score of 65.
Vongvanij started out strong, making five birdies and one bogey in the first round to finish four under par. In the second round, Vongvanij made the team’s first two eagles of the season in between three birdies, four bogeys and one double bogey for a score of 71.
Choi carded three birdies and three bogeys to shoot even par in round one and four birdies and two bogeys in the second round to finish with a score of 68.
Sophomore Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) saw his first action of the year, carding five birdies, five bogeys and one double bogey for a 72 in round one. In the second round, he made two birdies and four bogeys to match his score of 72.
Redshirt senior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) finished in a 25th-place tie after making three birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys in the first round for a score of 73 and two birdies and four bogeys in the second round for a 72.
“We had a really good day,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “Once again, everyone played solidly all day long and everyone did their part.”
The Gators return to the course Tuesday morning for the final round at 9 a.m. ET. Please visit www.GatorZone.com for updated results and www.golfstat.com for live scoring.
Team Scores After Rounds One and Two
| Place | School | To Par | Round One Score | Round Two Score |
| 1 | Florida | -6 | 278 | 276 |
| 2 | Auburn | -4 | 275 | 281 |
| 3 | Alabama | -1 | 281 | 278 |
| T4 | South Alabama | +12 | 287 | 285 |
| T4 | UNLV | +12 | 279 | 293 |
| 6 | Mississippi State | +22 | 296 | 286 |
| 7 | Memphis | +23 | 299 | 284 |
| 8 | UAB | +26 | 289 | 297 |
| 9 | SMU | +30 | 296 | 294 |
| 10 | Southern Mississippi | +35 | 296 | 299 |
| 11 | Samford | +36 | 298 | 298 |
| 12 | Georgia State | +38 | 303 | 295 |
Individual Top 10 Through Rounds One and Two
| Place | Player (School) | To Par | Round One Score | Round Two Score |
| 1 | Niclas Carlsson (Auburn) | -8 | 64 | 68 |
| 2 | Bobby Wyatt (Alabama) | -7 | 64 | 69 |
| 3 | Tyler McCumber (Florida) | -5 | 70 | 65 |
| 4 | Bank Vongvanij (Florida) | -3 | 66 | 71 |
| 5 | Phillip Choi (Florida) | -2 | 70 | 68 |
| T6 | Blake Biddle (UNLV) | E | 70 | 70 |
| T6 | Michael Hebert (Auburn) | E | 70 | 70 |
| T6 | Bud Cauley (Alabama) | E | 74 | 66 |
| T6 | Jack Hiluta (South Alabama) | E | 72 | 68 |
| T10 | Derek Ernst (UNLV) | +1 | 66 | 75 |
| T10 | Kelly Kraft (SMU) | +1 | 71 | 70 |
Florida Results After Rounds One and Two
| Place | Player | Round One Score | Round Two Score |
| 3 | Tyler McCumber | 70 (E) | 65 (-5) |
| 4 | Bank Vongvanij | 66 (-4) | 71 (+1) |
| 5 | Phillip Choi | 70 (E) | 68 (-2) |
| T-21 | Tommy Mou | 72 (+2) | 71 (+2) |
| T-25 | Andres Echavarria | 73 (+3) | 72 (+2) |
