This is it.
At the start of the season, the Florida men’s golf team and head coach J.C. Deacon had one goal in mind.
To contend for a national championship.
Today, the No. 16-seed Gators embark on that mission as they commence Round 1 of the NCAA National Championship in Eugene, Oregon.
The top-five teams and the top individual on a non-advancing team from each of the six regionals qualified to compete in the tournament.
The Gators, who earned a second-place finish at the regional in Kohler, Wisconsin, will square off against 29 of the top teams in the nation.
In addition to Florida, eight Southeastern Conference teams are competing in the tournament, including No. 6-seed Georgia, No. 8-seed Vanderbilt and No. 9-seed Auburn.
The event will be held at Eugene Country Club, a 7,014-yard par-70 course marred by fairways the size of sidewalks and unpredictable weather.
“You have to drive it really well,” Deacon said in a release. “I like how that sets up for us.
“The greens are going to be extremely fast, and some of our guys have fantastic touch, so it’s a good course.”
Florida is going with the same lineup that it doned at regionals. Freshmen Sam Horsfield and Gordon Neale will be leading the team. Horsfield and Neale finished in a tie for 12th and a tie for 29th at regionals, respectively.
Sophomore Alejandro Tosti, who finished runner-up at regionals, is playing the No. 3 spot. Freshman Jorge Garcia and junior Ryan Orr round out the Gators’ five-man lineup.
The championship will begin with three rounds of stroke play, followed by a 15-team cut. The top-15 teams and top-nine individuals on non-advancing teams will continue onto the fourth round on Monday. After Monday’s round, the top-eight teams will advance to match play and an individual champion will be crowned. The match-play portion of the tournament will consist of a quarterfinal and a semifinal on Tuesday. The team champion will be crowned after the final on Wednesday.
In only his second season as Florida’s head coach, Deacon has a chance to make history. Florida is gunning for its fifth NCAA title in program history. The Gators haven’t won the championship since 2001.
“I think we’re playing the best we’ve played all year,” Deacon said. “We have to play really patient. We have to play really smart. If we do that, I think we have the talent and ability to play well out here.”
Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter on @rboone1994.
Freshman Gordon Neale hits a ball during Day 2 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 21, 2016, at the Mark Bostic Golf Course.
