The Florida men’s golf team looked to return to its winning ways after a narrow defeat at last week’s Schenkel Invitational, but the Gators didn’t do much to help themselves Sunday.
After shooting a 4-over-par score on Day 1 of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C., Florida was tied for seventh in the last tournament of the regular season.
Sophomore Tyler McCumber led the way for the Gators in the individual competition, turning in a 1-under-par 70, good enough to tie for 10th overall.
McCumber played a clean round, only carding one bogey before a double bogey on the 18th put a damper on his performance.
“Tyler played a beautiful round,” coach Buddy Alexander said. “He played some of the best golf he’s played all year.”
But for the rest of the team, Sunday’s round was not such smooth sailing.
Sophomore Phillip Choi had a solid afternoon, with the exception of a bizarre four-hole stretch on the front nine where he scored three birdies and a double bogey, to finish with an even-par 71.
Senior Bank Vongvanij, fresh off his individual victory at the Schenkel Invitational, played a steady, yet uninspired, 1-over-par round.
Sophomore Tommy Mou’s inconsistent 4-over-par performance was his first score to be counted toward the team total since Bandon Dunes in early March.
The team was shorthanded without senior and team captain Andres Echavarria, who finished second in the Chitimacha Louisiana Open on Sunday, beating 73 other professional golfers.
When asked about Florida’s inability to put together an impressive round, Alexander took a more positive approach in grading his team’s performance.
“We played all right, not as bad as it looked,” Alexander said. “The conditions got a little tougher as the day went on, and we didn’t putt particularly well, but we’ll be better tomorrow.”
The Gators find themselves eight strokes behind Wake Forest, which leads the tournament at 4-under-par.
Florida may not be in a prime position to pick up the win this week in South Carolina, but last week’s tournament followed a similar script. The Gators entered the final round of the Schenkel Invitational six shots behind Auburn but stormed back to tie the score and nearly steal the win.
