After a runner-up finish at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship April 7, the UF men’s golf team returns to action Friday as they take part in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Championship.
Seniors J.D. Tomlinson and Eric Banks will compete for the Gators in the postseason tournament along with junior A.J. Crouch, sophomore Ryan Orr and freshman Alejandro Tosti. These are the same five that sealed the second place finish last week.
This year’s SEC Championship will pit the Gators against four top-10 teams: No. 4 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Auburn, No. 8 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU.
Besides Tosti, all four athletes have experience playing in the SEC Championship and coach JC Deacon said it will give them a slight edge going into the weekend.
Banks shot 1-over-par to finish tied for 26th last year leading the team. Orr finished last year’s event 5-over-par and Tomlinson shot 8-over-par for the tournament.
"We’re working three times as hard as we did when we started this year," Deacon said. "The attitude is so much better than it was when we started and that’s obviously another huge thing. … I look back to that first tournament we had, it was a heavy SEC field, and we were 14 shots behind the second to last place team after the first day and to think about how far this team has come since that day, it makes me so proud."
The past week has been a big one for Deacon personally as his first regular season as head coach came to a close and he and his wife welcomed their first daughter into their family.
"Life’s pretty exciting right now," Deacon said. "I can’t believe I have the honor, and I’m a head coach going into the SEC championship. A lot of dreams are coming true."
Follow Ryan Summers on Twitter @RyanSummers18
J.D. Tomlinson swings during Day 1 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 14 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
J.D. Tomlinson swings during Day 1 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 14 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
