Entering the third tournament of the season, J.D. Tomlinson was looking for more consistency in his play.
During the tournament, Tomlinson was consistent and then some.
The senior finished the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in a tie for third place at 10-under-par, after carding a 6-under, 66 in the final round at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando.
His third-place performance ties his career-best finish, which was set at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in 2013. Tomlinson’s three day score of 206 is the best in his career.
"It was just an absolute pleasure watching him," coach J.C. Deacon said in a release. "He put on a clinic out there, so that was really nice to see. Hopefully that gets his confidence going to spark a big-time year."
Meanwhile, Florida finished the three-day event in 11th place at 2-under-par, which was 35 shots behind No. 3 Florida State, which took home the tournament title as it finished the tournament at 37-under-par.
Even though the Gators had their best round of the tournament, Deacon said the team can continue to grow.
"We didn’t finish well. … We were right in the thick of it for sixth, seventh, eighth place there for a while, but we just let it go at the end a little, which was disappointing," Deacon said. "But, it was a big, big step in the right direction."
Florida State won by two strokes over No. 16 Vanderbilt. The Commodores, however, had the two best individual player finishes in Orlando.
Freshman Ryan Celano was the second-best player for the Gators in the tournament as he finished at 3-over-par, shooting a 1-over 73 on the final day. Senior Thomas Stewart shot a 5-over 77 in the last round, after entering the round at even-par.
After struggling the first two days of the event, junior A.J. Crouch bounced back in the final round with a 2-under 70. The Jacksonville native completed the tournament at 6-over-par, good enough to tie for 58th place.
Senior Eric Banks found himself in trouble on the par-4 seventh hole in the final round. Banks was 1-over-par on the day entering the hole and then proceeded to card a quadruple bogey.
Banks finished the tournament at 7-over-par.
With one more tournament to go in the fall season, Deacon thinks the team has a strong chance of getting a win.
"I think they should go down and compete for the title," Deacon said. "The field is not as strong as some of the one’s we’ve played in so far, and I think all of the guys are starting to play some of their better golf. We’re coming together as a group, and I think they should be very competitive."
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J.D. Tomlinson tees off on Day 2 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 16 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
