In any sport, the road to a championship includes plenty of adversity.
The Florida men’s and women’s golf teams experienced their fair share Monday. How they respond will go a long way toward showing if they have the mettle to bring home SEC and NCAA Tournament titles.
The Gators fell off the 1-over-par pace set by Auburn with a cumulative 14-over-par score, dropping them to seventh place at the John Hayt Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The most surprising part of Florida’s collapse was the poor play by the No. 2 player in the nation, Bank Vongvanij.
A 6-over-par 78, his highest score of 2011 by four strokes, leaves Vongvanij in a tie for 20th.
Sophomore Tyler McCumber also had a miserable round, finishing with an 8-over-par 80.
The pair of bright spots in an otherwise bleak day for the Gators were sophomore Phillip Choi and freshman Payne Denman.
Choi was able to continue his excellent form from a 4-under-par first round to turn in a 1-under-par 71 in the second round.
The sophomore is tied for first as an individual with Auburn’s Blayne Barber and Arkansas’ Sebastian Cappelen.
“He keeps getting better and better,” coach Buddy Alexander said of Choi. “I’d love to see him get a win here.”
The result of Denman’s first round was an unimpressive 10-over-par 82, but he improved significantly on Monday.
His 3-over 75 was second best on the squad and counted toward the team total for the first time in his young career.
The Florida women also had a forgettable second round at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, shooting a 13-over-par 301 to find themselves in 12th place, 17 strokes behind top-ranked Alabama.
Coach Jan Dowling called Monday “an okay day for the Gators,” referencing the four scores that were between 74 and 77.
Sophomores Mia Piccio and Isabelle Lendl both shot 3-over-par 75’s, senior Jessica Yadloczky finished with a 5-over-par 77, and junior Evan Jensen led the team with a 2-over-par 74.
Dowling cited the short game as the root of the Gators’ early season troubles. At this point, she said, it is still her team’s greatest weakness.
Regardless of how Florida finishes today, she believes its experience this week against a strong field will help in the postseason.
“When I made our schedule, I looked for hard courses and great fields,” Dowling said. “Our goals are still ahead of us in the postseason, and our experiences now will help us achieve those goals.”
