Last week at NCAA Regionals, Florida played well enough to finish in third place and qualify for the NCAA Championships on June 2.
“We’re happy about advancing to the next round” Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. “To finish in third (at Regionals) wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but we live to see another day.”
In the past four tournaments, Florida has carded a top-three finish each time, and strong starts in the first round have played a big role in UF’s most recent successes.
Florida’s impressive recent first round scores has put it in position to finish the season confident going into the NCAA Championships.
In the past three first rounds, UF finished the day in either first or second place, as the Gators carded a 279 (-1) at Regionals, 280 (E) at the Southeastern Conference Championships and an incredible 272 (-17) at the Golden Ocala Invitational.
“I think it’s important that we get off to a good start” Alexander said. “Golf is an individual sport, and it’s all about confidence and I think if these guys got off to a poor start they might start second guessing themselves.”
As good as Florida has been on day one, it usually tends to slip up during round two.
UF was very resilient at Regionals after weather suspended the second day with all of Florida’s golfers between holes 13 and 16. The Gators fell to fourth place at 227 (+5), and fought back the next day as they finished the second round at 280 (E).
“By far the biggest and best thing was that we were able to finish the second round (of Regionals) the way we did,” Alexander said. “It gave us a cushion going into the final round that we didn’t have the day before. That was a big part of our success.”
Even at the SEC Championships, UF went from shooting par in the first round to carding a 292 (+12) in the second round, bringing it from second place to sixth at the end of the second round.
This week at the NCAA Championships, Florida needs to have a strong second round and not ‘dig a hole they have to play out of’.
Other reports contributed to this article.
