At the turn, the Florida men’s golf team was two over par. But after a subpar performance on the back nine, the Gators finished Tuesday at 291 (+11) – six spots from the bottom of the leaderboard.
By the end, a bewildered Florida team was left looking for answers after a rough opening round.
“It was a long day today,” coach Buddy Alexander stated in a release. “We could not seem to get anything going. It was pretty disappointing.”
Senior Tyler McCumber and sophomore Eric Banks both carded a 34 (-1) through the front nine. The second nine, however, did not produce the same results.
McCumber had three bogeys on the back nine and Banks shot a bogey and a double bogey. Each golfer finished at 72 (+2).
The duo had company at two over thanks to T.J. Vogel’s double bogey on the par-five No. 12 – a blemish on an otherwise even round of three birdies and three bogeys.
“He just couldn’t get any momentum,” Alexander said of Vogel. “He birdied No. 5, bogeyed No. 7 when he was buried in the lip. He birdied No. 10, then doubled on No. 12. He birdied on No. 15, then a poor drive on No. 16 and makes a bogey.”
Florida’s worst score came from injured sophomore J.D. Tomlinson, who shot an 80 (+10). Tomlinson cut his foot on a pool tile while with his family in the time between regionals and NCAA Championships, and the injury appeared to have an affect on the sophomore’s play. Tomlinson shot three bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey during a round that was doomed midway through the first nine thanks to one double bogey on the fifth and a bogey on the sixth.
Four of the five Florida players shot over par on hole No. 17. The Gators scored a combined six-over par on the par-four 17th.
With 12 shots between them and the eighth-place cutoff for weekend match play, the Gators have their work cut out for them over the next 36 holes.
