It’s not about how you start but how you finish, and in Buddy Alexander’s eyes, Florida did not finish well.
The Gators dropped from 11th to 12th place to conclude the second round of the Chris Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga., on Saturday. Florida shot 293 (+5), improving four strokes from Friday’s team total. Through the first two rounds, the Gators stand at 590 (+14) collectively.
Georgia Southern took No. 13 UAB’s place at the top of the leaderboard after shooting 276 (-12) in the second round.
Alexander was pleased with Florida’s start, but the Gators fell apart as they moved through the round.
“We started on the back nine, which is clearly the hardest nine, and talked about getting through the first six holes in a good spot, which we did,” Alexander said. “Then we just played poorly from there out.”
Some Gators, such as Eric Banks, improved from Friday to Saturday. Banks shot a 71 in the second round, one under par, to put him at 146 (+2) total. J.D. Tomlinson and Victor Tarnstrom also enjoyed a better second round, each shooting 73 to move them to 147 (+3) and 149 (+5) respectively.
Santiago Gavino, who is competing as an individual, had the biggest turnaround out of all the Gators. Gavino struggled in the first round, shooting 82 (+10), but then shot only one over par with a 73 score in the second round.
Ryan Orr and Richard Donegan experienced setbacks. Although they each shot 74 on Friday, Orr shot 76 in the second round to move him to a 150 total (+6), while Donegan shot 77 to total 151 (+7) through the two rounds.
Florida will finish out the tournament with the final round Sunday. The 15-team field’s shotgun start is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. because threatening weather is expected.
The Gators will look to close out their tournament performance with a move up the leaderboard.
“We will keep working hard; it’s all you can do,” Alexander said.
Follow Layne Weitzel on Twitter @laynejweitzel
