Junior J.D. Tomlinson has garnered a number of accomplishments in his golf career, but a SunTrust Gator Invitational title is not among them.
“I personally have never won this tournament,” Tomlinson said, “so I think it’d be really cool to finally bring it back here.”
Florida’s men’s golf team will try to keep the trophy in Gainesville when it kicks off the two-day, 54-hole SunTrust Gator Invitational on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
In the tournament’s 36-year history, the Gators have been successful, winning 23 team titles and 10 medalist honors. They were especially dominant from 2004 to 2011, capturing eight consecutive team titles and two first-place medalist honors from Jonas Blixt in 2005 and Billy Horschel in 2009.
Florida’s winning ways in its lone home tournament have tapered off in recent seasons.
UF fell short of another title in 2012, finishing third behind SEC opponent Auburn. Florida finished fourth last spring behind rival Florida State.
The Gators are eager to start up a new winning streak, both on their home course and overall.
“I think (this tournament) would be a good starting point to get a little momentum going,” junior Eric Banks said. “We all feel comfortable here, sleeping in our own beds.”
A big reason why UF is feeling confident is because of its knowledge of the course.
“We play this course at least three times a week, so we know it real well,” redshirt junior Santiago Gavino said. “The conditions play a little different this week than normal, but … I think we are ready for it.”
Course conditions will be less than ideal due to the rain forecasted for Saturday. But over time, UF has gotten used to chipping and shooting in mud rather than on grass.
“The team’s coming off nice, conditioned golf courses coming out here; they’re not going to be used to it,” Tomlinson said. “So I think it’ll only give us an advantage. Scores might be higher, but it should help us.”
Coach Buddy Alexander and his golfers believe that this 14-team field, which includes five top 25 teams according to Golfstat.com, is one of the best that has come into Gainesville recently.
“It’s stronger than the years before, for sure, and that’s good for us because we’ll get more competition, play against better players and show them what we have at home,” Gavino said.
The field will begin with 36 holes Saturday and conclude with 18 on Sunday.
“We have something to prove, so I think it’ll be a good week for us,” Tomlinson said.
Follow Layne Weitzel on Twitter @laynejweitzel
