Gordon Neale stepped up to a 25-foot putt on the 18th hole.
In front of a large pro-Vanderbilt crowd, Neale pulled back his putter and drained the shot for an eagle. Teammate Alejandro Tosti let out a huge yell that caught the attention of the Commodore crowd.
And even though coach J.C. Deacon couldn’t hear the yell, he said the players were talking about it on the way to the airport.
“I was down back on 17 with Sam (Horsfield), so I was probably about a mile away,” Deacon said. “But I heard about it. The guys were loving it. They were laughing about it after the round. Ali (Tosti) was telling the story and he couldn’t stop laughing.”
The Gators have a lot to smile about after taking first place in a tournament for the fifth time this year on Sunday. Florida shot 13 under on its way to the win to close out the regular season.
“Amazing weekend. No other way to put it,” Deacon said. “This team is a championship team, and they’re finding ways to win, which is a great sign. Especially this time of year. But yesterday was just one of the coolest days I’ve ever had as a coach. There was just kind of a confidence in all five of the guys.”
While Deacon was away from Neale and Tosti, he was watching Sam Horsfield, the sophomore from Davenport, Florida, work his own magic on the final two holes. Horsfield birdied 17 and 18 to pull ahead of the leaders and win the individual title by two strokes. On the 18th, Horsfield hit a wedge to put the ball within four to five feet of the hole. When he asked Deacon about what he had to do, Deacon said he needed to make the shot to win.
“He’s clutch,” Deacon said. “You know, if we’ve got a tournament on the line, you want to have it in Sam’s hands. You know he’s going to make it happen.”
In a couple of weeks, the Gators will make a trip to St. Simons Island, Georgia, to compete in the SEC Championship on April 21. Until then, Deacon hopes his players will enjoy the time off.
“We need some rest. Hopefully the guys are gonna take in the Masters this weekend,” Deacon said. “So hopefully the guys will put their feet up a little bit and watch that. As a kid, that always really motivated me, watching those guys. So I hope our guys will take some time to do that.”
Contact Justin Ahlum at jahlum@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @justinn_case1.
UF's Gordon Neale hits a shot during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Mark Bostic Golf Course.
