Sophomore Sam Horsfield may have struggled over his two days at the Windon Memorial Classic, but one moment stood out.
On the par-3 third hole in the final round, Horsfield watched as his ball sailed through the air and into the hole on his first shot.
Horsfield’s hole-in-one was just one of many bright spots for the Gators as they took home the title in Glenview, Illinois, with a 3-under-par score.
They were also the only team to finish below par.
Another bright spot was the play of sophomore Gordon Neale and freshman Andy Zhang.
Neale, who finished the tournament tied for second at 4 under par, collected five birdies and five bogeys in the final round.
Zhang, playing in his first college tournament, made five birdies, five bogeys and a triple bogey in his final round of the tournament to place sixth at 3 under.
Junior Ryan Celano, the only other Gator to finish in the top 10 with a share of eighth, finished at 1 over par with four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.
Senior Ryan Orr finished at 5 over par and in a tie for 21st, collected four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Meanwhile, Horsfield struggled.
Despite his hole-in-one, he only made two birdies and tacked on six bogeys, ending with a 14-over-par score and a tie for 54th.
“This provided some confidence that we could win and pull off a strong win and we’re prepared now to work hard this week to get ready for this weekend in Texas,” associate coach John Handrigan said in a release.
The Gators will look to add to their success with another title on Oct. 2 at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational in Dallas.
Women’s team:
The Florida women’s golf team continued to fall behind in the ANNIKA Classic in Orlando on Monday.
After the second round of the tournament, UF is sitting at 8 under par and in sixth place, 17 strokes behind tournament leader UCLA.
Two Gators — senior Maria Torres and freshman Carlotta Ricolfi — are currently below par.
Torres, who is in a tie for 12th with a 5-under-par score, collected three birdies and two bogeys en route to a 1-under-par performance on Monday.
Ricolfi finished the round with a 1-under-par score, collecting two birdies and one bogey, good for a share of 26th and a 2-under-par tournament score.
And sophomore Sam Wagner produced a team-best 2-under-par score on the day, railing off three birdies and one bogey to finish the day with a share of 34th and a tournament score of 1 over par.
Freshman Marta Perez made seven bogeys and five birdies to place in a tie for 36th and place her tournament score at 2 over par.
After starting the day at 1 under par, senior Karolina Vlckova collected five bogeys to just one birdie, setting her score at three over par and placing her in a tie for 43rd.
The Gators finish the ANNIKA Classic on Tuesday with Vlckova teeing off at 8 a.m.
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Sam Horsfield hits a shot during Round 2 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 21, 2016, at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
