Playing at the site of two U.S. Opens and in a field with the top-3 teams in the country, the No. 8 Gators, led by senior Bank Vongvanij’s 2nd-place finish, won the Olympia Fields Invitational on Sunday.
UF shot 280-280-285 to finish at 5-over-par and seven shots ahead of No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 3 Augusta State, the defending NCAA Champions.
“For a second there, it looked like we had a reasonably comfortable lead,” coach Buddy Alexander said. “And the next thing you know, it vanished.”
Sophomore Phillip Choi made a double bogey at the 16th, while Augusta State’s Patrick Reed sank an eagle putt on 15, and the Gators’ lead temporarily shrank to four shots.
“The last three holes here are really hard,” Alexander said. “Other than the double bogey, we played them really well and I think that was the difference in the golf tournament.”
Vongvanij was 1-over on his round but made a birdie at the par-4 17th to get back to even and help the Gators close out the win.
He finished with a career-low 54-hole total of 207 (70-67-70, -3), besting his finish from a year ago at Olympia Fields by 20 shots.
“I hit my driver a lot straighter this year,” Vonvanij said. “This is one of those golf courses where it’s a big difference if you hit the fairways. It’s a lot easier playing from the fairway.”
Sophomore Tyler McCumber, also carding a career-best total, made nine straight pars on the back nine to finish at even-par 70 and tied for fifth place with a 54-hole total of 211 (68-73-70, +1).
Coming off a 3-under round, senior Andres Echavarria couldn’t overcome a double bogey at the second, shooting a 3-over 73. Echavarria made it three Gators in the top-10, finishing in a tie for seventh at 212 (72-67-73, +2).
Choi was even-par on his round before the double bogey on 16. He tied for 36th overall at 9-over.
“Maybe I underrated these guys a little bit,” Alexander said. “But yea, it looks like we can play with anybody.”
After winning the opening tournament for the first time since 2005-06, coach Alexander remained focused.
“I hope they realize it’s not going to be this easy every week,” he said. “We’ll just enjoy this one while we got it.”
