Buddy Alexander took a chance with his five-man lineup. It hasn’t worked.
Florida is tied for eighth out of 14 teams at the end of the first day of its home SunTrust Gator Invitational. The Gators shot a collective 588 (+28) through 36 holes.
Southeastern Conference counterpart No. 25 Arkansas leads with a score of 570 (+10).
Alexander decided to mix things up with his five starters, going with regulars Eric Banks, J.D. Tomlinson and Ryan Orr and also adding Billy Anderson and Conor Richardson.
“We haven’t had a great season, so I thought that I’d roll the bones and try some new things and new people,” Alexander said.
This tournament marks Anderson’s first this year despite his senior status and Richardson’s second as a redshirt freshman. The two finished fourth and fifth out of the five Gators, shooting 156 (+16) and 157 (+17) respectively.
Both did well in qualifying rounds earlier this week, which is part of the criteria Alexander uses in his lineup decisions.
“They did absolutely the best they could, and it’s just one of those deals where they haven’t played a lot of competitive golf,” Alexander said. “It sort of showed up today, and unfortunately, it hurt us.”
Santiago Gavino, a redshirt junior, competed as an individual in two fall tournaments for UF and finished tied for fourth out of the five Gators who played in the Sea Best Invitational in early February. He did not make the cut to be included in the five-man lineup and instead played as an individual alongside sophomore Richard Donegan.
“I think I made a big mistake with my lineup this week,” Alexander said.
Gavino finished the day shooting 142 (+2) and tied for sixth out of the 75-man field. His score turned out to be the best of the seven Gators competing. According to Alexander, Gavino didn’t play like this in qualifying rounds, or else he would have been chosen to compete for the team.
“A lot of times I go with qualifying scores and a lot of times I just pick,” Alexander said. “Obviously if you look at what Santiago shot, we’d be a whole lot better off with him.”
Orr finished a shot behind Gavino at 143 (+3) and is tied for 10th place. Fellow freshman Richardson was not as lucky, ending the first two rounds in last place out of the five Gators.
“Ryan has played in every tournament this year, so he has been better in qualifying, has been better in tournaments,” Alexander said. “He’s probably a whole lot more comfortable in this situation than Conor, so I think that was pretty obvious with the scoring today.”
The rain that was expected to play a role in the tournament was not a factor, but the wind made things a little bit harder for the entire field.
“You look at the scores – they’re pretty high,” Alexander said. “It was a breezy day, hole locations were difficult and the little old golf course held its own.”
The tournament will conclude Sunday with the final 18 holes. The field will begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start.
Follow Layne Weitzel on Twitter @laynejweitzel
