Without two of their top five golfers in the John Hayt Invitational, the onus would be on the Gators’ three remaining regulars to lead the team.
All three turned in under-par scores Sunday in Ponte Vedra Beach, but it was not enough to earn the Florida men’s golf team a spot atop the leaderboard.
Florida sits in fifth after one round of play, four shots behind tournament-leading Auburn.
The highlight of the day for the Gators was the play of sophomore Phillip Choi, who carded a 4-under-par 68 to tie for second in the individual standings.
The other regular starters for the Gators, senior Bank Vongvanij and sophomore Tyler McCumber, scored a 3-under-par 69 and a 1-under-par 71, respectively.
“It was an up-and-down day, but we got great play out of Phillip and Bank,” UF coach Buddy Alexander said. “Those guys played pretty well, and that’s a good sign for our team.”
The Florida women’s team, meanwhile, began the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Sunday, finishing tied for eighth with a team score of 10-over.
Sophomore Isabelle Lendl bounced back from her struggles at last week’s Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge by scoring a 2-under-par 70 to tie for fourth.
Gators coach Jan Dowling attributed Lendl’s success to a strong practice round on Saturday, which boosted her confidence coming into the tournament.
Florida’s eighth-place standing is made more impressive considering the remarkable strength of its competition in New Orleans.
The field includes seven top-10 teams and a total of 12 squads ranked in the top 25.
