This week, opportunity will knock in Durham, N.C., for three players on the UF men's golf team.
Chappell Brown, Tim McKenney and Arnond "Bank" Vongvanij will travel to Duke to compete in the Duke Coca-Cola Individual Collegiate starting today.
It will give players who perhaps haven't been able to qualify for past tournaments a chance to demonstrate their skills in tournament play.
"They have an opportunity to go up there and instead of trying to beat guys at home in qualifiers, they got a chance to compete against other college players that are pretty similar to them," coach Buddy Alexander said. "If one of our guys can play really well, then what they're saying to me, in a roundabout way, is, 'I'm better in tournaments than I am in qualifiers. So if I can get into a team event, then I think I can contribute.'"
Since the tournament is an individual one, there will be no team totals.
The Coca-Cola Individual comes in time for Alexander to see how some other members of his team measure up when some of the heavier guns aren't available.
"What these three guys are trying to do is make a statement that they belong in the qualifying mix with those other guys," Alexander said.
Play in the Coca-Cola Individual may also determine whether any player headed up to Durham will compete in the Galloway National Invitational in Atlantic City, N.J., the last tournament of the fall season.
None of the three players competing this week have competed this season for the Gators, but they all head up to Duke with experience.
McKenney has played in the NCAA Championships and shot his career-low round of 66 there in 2007 to tie for 22nd.
Vongvanij's career bests have come at home, in last season's Gator Invitational, where he managed to shoot a 208 for the tournament en route to tying for 9th place.
Brown's career lows all came at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in 2007.
