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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>UF's Sam Horsfield swings during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Mark Bostic Golf Course.</p>

UF's Sam Horsfield swings during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Mark Bostic Golf Course.

At the end of the Schenkel Invitational’s second round, UF coach J.C. Deacon said something special would need to happen for the team to get the job done. With three holes to go, Florida was in a three-way tie for first place.

By the end of the tournament, the Gators were alone on top of the standings.

After the win, Deacon said the victory was incredibly rewarding to him, considering the team’s disappointing couple of results prior to the Schenkel Invitational.

“This one is different,” he said in a release. “We had to come from way back...I am so happy for them. It was an amazing day.”

Florida was able to take home its fourth tournament win this season, shooting a combined 18-under 846 over its three-day stay in Statesboro, Georgia. It was also the team’s fourth victory in its 32nd trip to the tournament. But what may have been the most interesting thing about the weekend was the fashion in which Florida was able to take the title.

Prior to the final day, Georgia Southern held sole possession of first place with an eight-stroke lead over the third place Gators. Deacon said coming back to win was huge for the team.

“We were eight strokes back starting the day, and to be able to come back and win by two,” Deacon said, “that shows the guys that there’s no lead that’s ever out of our reach. That’s a big thing for us going forward.”

Sam Horsfield maintained his hot streak, posting his third consecutive top-15 finish after shooting under par in all three rounds this weekend. His performance was good enough for sole possession of third place.

Elsewhere for Florida, Ryan Orr continued his senior campaign with a top-15 finish. Orr shot a 4-under 68 in the final round to boost him into a tie for 12th place. The performance allowed him to move 15 spots up the leaderboard after two rounds of even-par golf.

Freshman Andy Zhang and sophomore Gordon Neale were two of five golfers to share 18th place with final scores of 2-under 214. Ryan Celano bounced back from consecutive over-par outings, shooting an even-par 72 for the day. And A.J. Crouch competed as an individual over the weekend, shooting 14 over for the tournament.

As a team, Florida notched 63 birdies in the tournament, 10 more than any other school in the field. Horsfield led the Gators with 16, including six during the final round.

“Sam was our rock, and he’s been our rock for two years. And he did it again today,” Deacon said.

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The victory comes after two disappointing finishes — one in Las Vegas and the other in the SunTrust Gator Invitational. But even with their struggles over the past month, Deacon recently received some words of wisdom from a popular Gainesville figure.

“(Former UF athletics director) Jeremy Foley told me earlier today: When champions get knocked on their back, they get up and win,” Deacon said. “We have five or six champions on this team who came to the Schenkel this weekend, and they sure showed it today.”

Vanderbilt sophomore Patrick Martin won the individual title, meanwhile, with a 12-under 204. It was the first win of his career.

The Gators will have the weekend off before they head to Nashville, Tennessee, to compete in the Mason Rudolph on March 31, hosted by Vanderbilt.

Contact Justin Ahlum at jahlum@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @justinn_case1.

UF's Sam Horsfield swings during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Mark Bostic Golf Course.

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