After a 35th place finish at the JU Invitational in February,
Phillip Choi’s spring season didn’t get off to a hot start.
But since then, he’s been on fire.
Four consecutive top-10 finishes, including a win at the John Hayt
Invitational, have placed the sophomore in the national
spotlight.
His run of outstanding play continued Friday at the Southeastern
Conference Championships in St. Simons, Ga, where his 1-under-par
69 helped the Gators end the first round in the lead.
“I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in the country. He’s that good,”
said head coach Buddy Alexander. “Phillip is just a heck of a ball
striker and a fast learner.”
While Choi led the way, the rest of the Gators men's golfers
contributed as well.
Seniors Andres Echavarria and Bank Vongvanij shot an even-par 70
and a 2-over 72 respectively, while sophomore Tyler McCumber shot a
4-over 74.
Echavarria tallied two birdies in his final four holes to salvage
his round and lift the team into sole possession of first place,
shooting a combined 5-over.
The Florida women's team did not fare as well in the first round of
its SEC Championship in Auburn, Al. The Gators currently sits in
eighth place after a 13-over-par Thursday.
Sophomore Mia Piccio turned in the best round of the day for the
Gators, shooting a 1-under 71. Piccio had a turbulent round that
included seven birdies and six bogeys.
The inconsistency shown by Piccio was typical of the performance of
the entire team, as strings of bad play ruined promising
rounds.
The most dramatic of those sequences was a stretch of three
consecutive double bogeys suffered by senior Jessica Yadloczky.
Head coach Jan Dowling was pleased with the effort of the girls,
but cited the frequent mistakes as the reason why the Gators find
themselves chasing seven other squads.
“I think we handled the postseason pressure well since we got off
to a hot start” said Dowling. “We need to lessen our mistakes, but
other than that, if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll be
fine.”
