No T.J. Vogel, no problem.
The Gators men’s golf team put up one of their best finishes in the first two rounds of a tournament this spring in the Gary Koch Invitational, despite Vogel’s absence.
The Koch Invitational in Tampa is the last regular season tournament for Florida before the Southeastern Championship on April 19. The Gators are in fourth place going into the final round.
“We haven’t played well this semester at all,” coach Buddy Alexander said. “I’ve said it before: I’ve been the luckiest guy in the world as far as injuries and illnesses are concerned, but we’ve had the flu; we’ve had mono; we’ve had a sports hernia; we’ve had open heart surgery; we’ve had it all this year.”
Vogel is preparing to play in the Masters on Thursday as an amateur. Florida overcame his absence on Monday.
The best finisher for the Gators in the first round freshman A.J. Crouch, who shot a 72 (E) in the first round and a 70 (-2) in the second round to finish tied for 13th.
Crouch has had an up-and-down freshman year. He finished tied for fourth in the first tournament of the season, but in the Gators last outing, he finished tied for 57th.
Next up for the Gators was senior Tommy Mou, who came in tied for 20th after shooting even par (72) in his first two rounds.
Mou has played in only three tournaments this season. One appearance came as an individual, but he was able to keep Florida buoyed by not shooting over par.
Freshman Eric Banks continued his strong spring season after overcoming a first round 75 (+3) to shoot a 70 (-2) in the second round and tie for 25th.
Banks has been the biggest surprise this season after coming back from open-heart surgery early and finishing near the top for Florida in all of his tournaments.
“I do think we’re getting healthier,” Alexander said.
Sophomore J.D. Tomlinson also saw his score drop from the first round to the second round. Tomlinson shot a 74 (+2) in the first round but brought his score down to a 71 (-1) in the second round to tie Banks for 25th.
The biggest improvement for Florida was senior captain Tyler McCumber, who improved eight strokes from his first round 77 (+5) to a 69 (-3) in the second round to tie for 29th.
After three top-10 finishes in the fall, McCumber’s best finish this spring was 24th. He is aiming to end his Gator career with another top-10 finish.
“We haven’t played particularly well,” Alexander said. “(We) need Tyler to come around and start playing a little bit better. … We haven’t had a lot of top-10 finishes individually this semester.”
The Gary Koch Invite ends today.
Senior Tyler McCumber putts during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 10 at Mark Bostick Golf Course.
