The
University of Florida men’s golf team shot a final round 294 (+10) to finish their
tournament at 26-over, 878, good for a tie for 12th overall. For the
tournament, the Gators were led by junior Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra,
Fla.) who finished in a tie for second place overall after finishing his
tournament in two-under, 211.
“We’re
obviously disappointed that we didn’t make the match play but I’m proud of our
guys and thought they did a great job of battling all week,” said head coach Buddy
Alexander. “Hopefully we can learn from this and gain some valuable experience
for down the road.”
McCumber,
who finished three strokes behind Thomas Pieters of Illinois, capped off his
impressive run at the NCAAs with a final round 73. After dropping a shot on the
12th, McCumber made back-to-back birdies at the par-4 13th and par-3 14th to
get to one-under. A bogey at 15 brought McCumber back to even for the round.
After closing his opening nine with a trio of pars, McCumber made a birdie on
the par-5 first to get back into the red. Unfortunately for the junior, he
bogeyed the second and fifth. McCumber was able to get a shot back by making
birdie at the par-3 sixth but while playing aggressively to catch Pieters and
try to get UF into the top-8 he dropped a shot at eight and closed his round at
one-over, 72. McCumber finished his solid junior season with four top-5
finishes and played his best during the team’s biggest events with a tie for
third at SECs and a tie for second at NCAAs.
“I
can’t say enough about how Tyler played this week,” Alexander said. “He just
played some terrific golf all week and to finish tied for second at NCAAs is a
big deal.”
Senior
Michael Furci (Sayville, N.Y.) rounded out his collegiate career with a
final round 73 (+2). Furci got off to a hot start with birdies on the par-4 10th
and the par-4 12th. A bogey at the 16th saw Furci turn in one-under, 35.
Unfortunately, Furci could not keep up to strong play and came in with four
bogeys against a lone birdie to finish his NCAA Championship at nine-over.
“It
always stings when you see a guy like Michael play his last round,” Alexander
explained. “He’s a great kid and he played well for us all week.”
After
a difficult second round, freshman J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville, Fla.) was
able to bounce back nicely with a two-over 73. On the day, Tomlinson tied for
the team lead with four birdies but gave back shots with four bogeys and a
double.
Junior
T.J. Vogel (Cooper City, Fla.) saw a successful debut season in the
Orange and Blue come to a disappointing close with a final round 76. On the
day, Vogel made three birdies countered by six bogeys and a double to close his
NCAA Championship at nine-over, 222. Despite the poor finish at NCAAs, Vogel had
an impressive season for the Gators recording nine top-10 finishes, including a
pair of victories.
Freshman
Eric Banks (Truro, Canada) rounded out the Gators lineup with a final
round 78.
The
Gators put together an impressive 2011-12 season which included three
tournament victories and seven top-3 finishes. The Gators will return a strong
lineup in 2012-13 with their entire roster expected to return with the
exception of seniors Furci and Zach Lee (Ponte Vedra, Fla.).
