UF’s biggest problem wasn’t putting, chipping or driving at the Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs over the weekend.
In fact, the Gators’ issues weren’t skill related at all.
Head coach JC Deacon said Monday that what hurt the men’s golf team most at the DICK’s Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup was its lack of mental toughness.
"You know, it’s the mentally strong that survive, and . . . we just didn’t have that," Deacon said.
But after finishing poorly and taking 7th place in the stroke play portion of the competition on Saturday, Deacon and the team rallied around the Florida football team’s win, using the comeback as inspiration for Sunday’s 18-hole match play contest against Georgia Tech.
Later Saturday night, Deacon addressed the team.
"We had probably the best meeting as a team that I’ve had since I’ve been here, and we really established what we want to look like.
"The players were a big part of the meeting, talking about what they wanted to look like, what they wanted to represent, what it meant to them to play for the Gator nation," he said.
After the meeting, Deacon was thoroughly impressed by the team’s performance on Sunday morning.
"Our guys were focused, they were determined, they were confident, they trusted each other. And we went out and beat a really good team, in Georgia Tech, in match play."
Of the five matchups, junior Ryan Orr and freshman Jorge Garcia won, while freshmen Gordon Neale and Sam Horsfield finished all square with their respective opponents.
Neale made a big statement in his first college tournament, tying Carpet Capital Collegiate champion Jacob Joiner.
Deacon admitted he had purposely paired Neale with Joiner to give him a challenge.
"I wanted to see … what he could do in kind of a big moment," Deacon said.
"He’s so good at golf, and I’m really, really excited for his future. He’s a hard worker. He wants to get better. He listens. … We’re very, very lucky to have Gordon Neale."
Deacon went on to commend the improvement Garcia showed from Saturday to Sunday.
After making a triple bogey on the 14th hole Saturday, the freshman was having trouble getting back into the right mindset.
"When I caught up to him at the 15th fairway he was still talking about it. That’s just is not acceptable at this level, because guys are so good that, if you can’t ... let frustration go, they’re gonna whoop you.
"And I’m only singling him out because the comeback I saw in him yesterday was amazing."
Garcia came out on Sunday and beat his GT opponent, Chris Petefish, by a four-hole margin.
Deacon was proud to see such strong resilience out of the group after the adversity on Saturday.
"Golf is just such a hard game," Deacon said.
"If you don’t play it, it’s hard to understand. It looks like guys are just out there swinging a club and laughing and smiling. But over the long haul, it beats you up.
"Tough stretches in sports happen. We just gotta keep fighting through it … and keep the work ethic … and we’re gonna be just fine."
Follow Matt Brannon on Twitter @MattB_727
Ryan Orr swings during Day 1 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 14, 2015, at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
