Despite
another uncooperative day, weather-wise, the eighth-ranked University of
Florida men’s golf team finished in eighth place at the Southern Highlands
Collegiate Masters on Sunday, March 10 at the Southern Highlands Golf Course in
Las Vegas, Nev. The team recorded a final-round 295 (+7) to complete the event
in 891 strokes total.
“We
played a little better today,” head coach Buddy Alexander said. “We were
able to move up the leaderboard.”
For the
second time in three days, play was delayed due to weather-related issues. Play
was delayed one hour in the morning due to frost on the course. When golfers
were finally able to take the course, strong gusts of wind made things
difficult for the field.
Freshman
A.J. Crouch (Jacksonville, Fla.) and sophomore Eric Banks (Truro,
Canada) were able to persist through the conditions and led the Gators on the
third and final day. Both golfers recorded a 72 (E) at the par-72, 7,510 yard
course. Crouch and Banks were two of 14 golfers to record a round at or under
par on the final day of competition.
For
Crouch, it was his fourth round at or under par of the season, which ranks
third on the team. He was the team’s lowest scorer on the weekend; registering
a three-round total of 218 (+2), his best 54-hole score of the year. Crouch just
missed out on his second top-10 finish of his career, finishing in a tie for 11th
place.
Banks
recovered from a rough start to his third round. The sophomore was two-over par
after his first seven holes. He recorded two birdies over his last 11 holes to
finish at even-par, marking his second score of the tournament that was at or below
par. Banks completed the event in 222 strokes (+6), good enough for a tie for 25th
place.
Senior Tyler
McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) finished the final round at two-over par. McCumber
came in 24th place after scoring a 221 (+5) for the three-round event.
Senior T.J.
Vogel (Cooper City, Fla.) and sophomore J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville,
Fla.) were the final two UF participants. Vogel scored a final-round 77 (+5),
while Tomlinson was seven-over par on the last day in Las Vegas.
“Golf is
a strange game,” Alexander commented. “Last year, Tomlinson and Vogel were our
low scorers and they struggled this year. This year, our four and five guys
(Banks and Crouch) did well. We still have a lot of work to do.”
