Senior Tyler McCumber has had success at the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational before, and on Sunday he got out to another strong start.
McCumber was a bright spot amid Florida’s early round struggles, collecting two birdies to carry a -2 through the 11th hole. But McCumber birdied once and bogeyed three times over the final seven holes, rounding out the first day with a 70 (E).
Last season, McCumber led the team during the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational and finished in a tie for seventh place, marking his second consecutive top-10 finish at the event.
He is currently tied for second on the individual leaderboard, two strokes behind Nicholas Losole (-2) of Northwestern.
Florida’s men’s golf team finished the first day of play on Sunday in Olympia Fields, Ill., with a team score of +15 (295), putting it in a tie for seventh place and 12 strokes behind tournament leader Arkansas.
The Olympia Fields/Illini Invite boasts a wealth of top-tier programs, presenting a greater challenge for UF than the season’s first tournament — The Invitational at the Ocean Course on Sept. 11.
The field includes eight teams that are ranked or received votes in the most recent coaches’ poll, including No. 8 Arkansas and No. 16 Florida State.
UF turned in an opening round 295 team score (+15).
McCumber carded an even par and sophomore J.D. Tomlinson finished the first round with a 72 (+2), a five-stroke improvement from last year’s first round of the Olympia Fields Invite (77).
“This is a really good golf course,” Gators coach Buddy Alexander said.
“It was pretty difficult, especially for our younger players with its quick greens.”
The Gators are competing in the Olympia Fields/Illini Invite for the fourth straight year. Last year, Florida finished in seventh place in its first tournament of the season.
Tomlinson is tied with 11 players for ninth place.
“Tyler and J.D. put together two decent scores,” Alexander said.
Despite the strong showings from McCumber and Tomlinson, Florida could not build upon their success.
Senior T.J Vogel struggled, bogeying early and often. He bogeyed nine times throughout the day, but tallied three birdies to bring his first round total to 76 (+6).
Redshirt sophomore Santiago Gavino birdied three holes, finishing his first round since joining Florida in 2010 with a score of 77 (+7).
Like Gavino, freshman A.J. Crouch recorded his first round of play on Saturday, carding an 80 (+10) to round out the Gators’ day. He bogeyed six holes and notched two double-bogeys.
The Gators will be the first team to pick up play Monday morning at 9 at the Olympia Fields Country Club.
Senior Tyler McCumber repeated his success at the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational with an even par opening round 70 on Sunday. The tournament boasts eight teams ranked or having votes in the latest Golf World/Nike Coaches Poll.
