Erasing the bad and writing the good is exactly what the Gators men’s golf team did Monday on the first day of the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala.
As a group, the Gators finished two rounds of play sitting at fifth place as juniors J.D. Tomlinson and Thomas Stewart led the way for UF.
After finishing 14th out of 15 teams at the season opener, UF's golfers improved their team totals, as well as their individual scores.
“We had our first good round of the year,” coach Buddy Alexander said. “That’s a positive and definitely broke the ice for us.”
Morning rain delays pushed back the tournament's start but did not shake the Gators.
Three Gators claimed spots in the top 25. Tomlinson tied for the No. 8 with 10 other players (-3), and Stewart tied for 10th place (-2).
Tarnstrom finished tied for the 21th (-1) after recording six birdies for a 69 in the second round.
“Thomas (and) Stewart played great this afternoon in his first start in the top five,” Alexander said. “Victor Tarnstrom came on with a nice round as well, and J.D. Tomlinson played a terrific afternoon round. [Tomlinson's] been very consistent.
Florida sits in fifth place behind UAB, who leads with a score of 556 (-20) after two rounds. Ole Miss (-18), Memphis (-10) and Liberty (-8) round out spots 2-4.
The third and final round of the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate will start Tuesday at 9:06 a.m.
“We had a good solid round this afternoon to get us back in the golf tournament,” Alexander said. “Feels good. Hopefully, it’s the start of many more.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence.
