Injuries and the absence of senior T.J. Vogel did not stop Florida from having arguably the team’s best showing of the spring in the Gary Koch Invitational. The Gators finished in fourth place at the two-day tournament in Tampa.
“It was a much different golf course today,” coach Buddy Alexander said in the release. “The tees were a little bit back, wind created some issues and scoring was a little bit higher. We had a reasonably solid day, though, and held our spot.
The final regular-season tournament of the year was played without Vogel, who is preparing for his Masters debut on Thursday.
Filling the void for Florida was senior captain Tyler McCumber, who shot even par (216) for the tournament. He finished tied for 16th, the highest on the team.
Right behind McCumber were freshman A.J. Crouch, sophomore J.D. Tomlinson, and senior Tommy Mou. The trio finished in a tie for 19th, shooting two over par (218).
Tomlinson finished the tournament by shooting a 73 in the final round (+1) after shooting a 74 (+2) and 71 (-1) in the first two rounds.
Crouch could have been much higher on the leaderboard if not for a setback in the final round. Crouch shot a 70 (-2) in the second round but a 76 (+4) in the final round.
Mou, who may have played his final tournament as a Gator, shot consistently throughout the tournament and finished with a 74 (+2) in the final round.
The last starter for Florida was sophomore Eric Banks. He had a setback of his own in the final round after shooting a 78 (+6).
Banks may have had the most unexpected season out of any player after coming back early from open-heart surgery and registering two top-15 finishes in the spring.
“Our last 36 holes were okay, but we need to get off to a better start,” Alexander said in the release. “We will be ready for the conference tournament in a couple weeks. Until then, we are all looking forward to watching T.J. Vogel in the Masters.”
The next tournament for the Gators will be the Southeastern Championship, which will take place on April 19 – 21.
Senior T.J. Vogel eyes his shot during the SunTrust Gator Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course on Sunday. Vogel is back with the Gators after competing in The Masters.
