Senior Ryan Orr had never won a tournament as an individual in his four years at Florida. But after shooting 6 under (204) during the two-day Sea Best Invitational, Orr captured his first title by one stroke over teammate Alejandro Tosti.
The senior was able to hold onto the lead despite shooting over par in the final round.
“It’s really good now. I’m sure it’ll settle in more, maybe throughout the day, maybe next week," Orr said in a release. "It’s a really, really good feeling to finally get a win again. I haven’t won in a long time and it’s my first collegiate victory, so it really feels good.”
The Gators also captured the team title, finishing the tournament nine strokes ahead of second-place Lipscomb University.
Despite being critical of his players after Monday’s performance, coach J.C. Deacon was pleased after the win.
“Really happy for the guys, and most happy because they prepared very, very well for this week. We’ve had great weather in Florida the last two months and the guys have taken advantage of it, spent a lot of time at the course prepping for this week and it showed," Deacon said. "(The team) had a tough circumstance today, a one-shot lead in pretty tough conditions with a very demanding golf course, and the guys played fantastic golf.”
The team saw three Gator golfers finish in the top five, a feat they accomplished last year in this same tournament when they had four players finish in the top five positions. Tosti, a junior from Rosario, Argentina, finished second after shooting 69 on the final day. He shot 5 under in the tournament and also recorded a career-low 205 over the three rounds at Sea Best. He beat his previous personal record — a 206 at last year’s Sea Best Invitational — by one stroke.
Just behind Tosti was sophomore Gordon Neale. Neale dropped to a tie for fifth place after holding a tie for second following Monday’s action. He shot 2 over (72) on the final day of action.
Elsewhere for the Gators, 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year and All-American Sam Horsfield rebounded from a mediocre first round to shoot under par in his final two rounds. Horsfield struggled to find his swing on Monday, as he finished the first round at 9 over. In the final two rounds, he was able to bounce back and shoot a combined 4 under (69, 67) to boost himself into the top-20 scores.
Jorge Garcia and Ryan Celano also competed for Florida, finishing 9 over and 16 over, respectively. A.J. Crouch competed as an individual and completed the day at 22 over, tied for 72nd.
Deacon said this has been the best month the team has had since he arrived in Gainesville.
“I hope that that sticks with the players and they realize that preparation does pay off," he said. "I’m happy for them. It’s good momentum, good atmosphere and a good jolt of energy for us in general. We’ll get home, get back to work and work on the things that we didn’t do as well this week and continue to try and get better and build for the end of the season.”
Up next for the Gators, they will host the Suntrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course Feb. 18 and 19. The Gators haven’t won at Mark Bostick since 2011 and will look to stay perfect in the Spring season when they return home.
Contact Justin Ahlum at jahlum@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @justinn_case1.
Ryan Orr tees off on Day 2 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 16 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
