The Gators headed into the Jerry Pate Invitational knowing they had to go low.
Red numbers littered the scorecards of Florida’s men’s golfers after Monday’s double dose of rounds, and No. 1 UF held a two-stroke lead against No. 22 Auburn. But Florida shot 6 over par on the back nine of Tuesday’s final round to finish in second place, seven strokes back of the Tigers.
“We didn’t play that great on the front nine either, to be honest with you,” coach Buddy Alexander said. “We didn’t play awful, we just didn’t make any birdies.”
After combining for 27 birdies and two eagles Monday, UF recorded just 10 birdies during Tuesday’s final round and none shot under par. Florida finished the tournament with a 2-over round of 282 for a 4-under tournament total of 836.
“It’s not like I realistically felt we were going to go undefeated this year,” Alexander said. “You got to tip your cap to Auburn. They played better than we did today.”
Although a second consecutive victory eluded his grasp, Tyler McCumber has much to be excited about.
The sophomore had only three bogeys in three rounds and demolished his previous career-low 54-hole total of 211. McCumber had one bogey and one birdie on the day to shoot 70 and finish third individually at 205 (-5).
“Right now Tyler McCumber is our best player,” Alexander said. “I’ve always felt like he had a lot of talent and was going to be an outstanding college player. It was not a matter of if, it was more a matter of when.”
If McCumber has been the best thus far, then senior Bank Vongvanij is an extremely close second. Vongvanij carded a 1-over 71 for a 54-hole total of 208 and finished in a tie for fifth individually. The senior’s scoring average of 69.2 through two tournaments.
Sophomore Phillip Choi is one of a handful of young players Alexander will rely on this season if he continues the steady play he showed in Birmingham, Ala. Choi, who was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team last season, finished ninth individually with a score of 211 (+1) after carding a 3-over 73 Tuesday.
Making his season debut, Tommy Mou completed the tournament in a tie for 13th at 4-over 214.
Mou made the turn at even and then rolled in an eagle on 15, but the sophomore scattered two bogeys on the back nine en route to an even-par round of 70.
Redshirt senior Andres Echavarria recorded three birdies on the front nine Tuesday to get to 3 under but again had trouble down the stretch, making three bogeys and a double bogey on the back to finish at 1 over.
The Colombian-born golfer will miss the Gators’ next tournament to play in an amateur event.
“That will be tough for us to overcome,” Alexander said. “He is one of our better players. Someone’s going to have to step up for Andres.”
