Coming off of a first-place finish at home, the Florida men’s golf team will travel to Ponte Vedra Beach on Sunday to participate in the three-round John Hayt Invitational. This invitational is considered the first collegiate major of the year.
The tournament will take place at the par 72, 6,895-yard Sawgrass Country Club golf course.
The Gators’ squad will be the same as it was in the SunTrust Gator Invitational, which the won, and will consist of seniors Tim McKenney and Tyson Alexander, juniors Andres Echavarria and Bank Vongvanij and freshman Phillip Choi.
“We gained a little bit of confidence from the Gator [Invitational], but we are realistic enough to know that we had some pretty significant advantages [there],” UF coach Buddy Alexander said. “That tournament went pretty much as I might have expected, but that’s not to say that I am not proud of the way we played and the way we handled the pressure and the heat of playing at home.
“Hopefully that should help us [realize] that we are capable of putting up numbers like that.”
Junior Robbie Wight and freshmen Tommy Mou and Tyler McCumber, all of whom participated in the Gator Invitational as individuals, competed for the individual spot for the upcoming tournament.
McCumber won in the qualifying rounds and will be participating as an individual.
“Our goal is every day to come out and work hard and try to get a little bit better,” Alexander said. “Hopefully, by the end of the year, we will be one of the elite teams.”
