After both the men’s and women’s golf teams entered the final day of their Southeastern Conference tournament in fourth place, only the men were able to improve their finish.
The men finished the tournament with a weekend total of 841 (+1), putting them in third place. Juniors Tyler McCumber and T.J. Vogel shot in the red, moving them both to a tie for third individually.
“I’m proud of my team,” coach Buddy Alexander said. “We battled hard all week and were pretty competitive all weekend. I feel that we have improved immensely from where we were at in the fall.”
McCumber had the more impressive round for the Gators on Sunday with a team-high six birdies against a team-low three bogeys. McCumber also had the second-biggest jump on the leaderboard for the Gators, moving up five spots from a tie for eighth.
“I’m really proud of T.J. and Tyler,” Alexander said. “They did what All-Americans do, turn things around when they aren’t playing their best and post good numbers for their team.”
The difference in bogeys between first-place Alabama and Florida was a main factor in UF finishing 13 strokes behind. The Gators had seven more bogeys during the three days than the Crimson Tide, in addition to only having five rounds under par in comparison to Alabama’s seven.
“Our improvement has been slow but steady,” Alexander said. “We’re getting better and I still think that our best golf is ahead of us.”
Florida’s women’s team was led by freshman Camilla Hedberg, who was able to hold onto a sixth-place finish despite shooting her worst round of the tournament on Sunday.
UF’s women’s team finished in fourth overall.
“Our goal this morning was to post a solid number and sit and wait,” coach Jan Dowling said. “Our start didn't allow us to get the momentum we needed. Our putting, particularly on the front, caused the most problems for us.”
Hedberg wasn’t the only one with a tough final round. Together, the women had 15 double bogeys and 15 bogeys against only 14 birdies on Sunday. They finished fourth with a tournament total of 925 (+61).
“With all that said, our attitudes were tremendous throughout the entire tournament, which is a huge tribute to our finish,” Dowling said. “I am very proud of the team for staying tough and finishing fourth in a great conference. Our future is bright for the postseason, because this finish was a true team effort.”
