Following the worst performance of his collegiate career, sophomore Sam Horsfield knew he needed a bounce-back tournament.
A 14-over-par score placed Horsfield in a tie for 54th place at the Windon Memorial Classic last week, a situation he hasn’t really been in.
And with the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational starting on Sunday, the Davenport native had only a week to get back into the right state of mind.
And he did.
After the first day of the tournament, Horsfield shined and paved the way for a strong Gator showing, tied for third with a 3-under-par score with four birdies and a bogey. He was the only Gator to score under par.
Backed by Horsfield’s play, the Florida men’s golf team is sitting in third place at 3 under par, four strokes behind tournament leader Oklahoma.
“It just shows what (Horsfield’s) made of,” coach J.C. Deacon said in a release. “He went home and had a great week of preparation, really got focused. He played great today.”
While only one Gator finished below par, three more Gators – juniors Ryan Celano and Alejandro Tosti and sophomore Jorge Garcia – scored even par and are tied for 16th.
Celano, the team leader in birdies (24), added two more to that total, but also carded two bogeys.
Tosti led the team in birdies on the day, railing off five while adding five bogeys to his score.
And Garcia tallied three birdies and one bogey, but a double bogey on the 13th hole evened out his score.
Sophomore Gordon Neale, the team leader at the Windon Memorial Classic, had finished even or under par in his first six rounds of the season before the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational.
But on Sunday, he broke that streak with a 2-over-par performance and sits in a tie for 34th. He carded three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
“We just have to keep doing the same things — focus on what we can control, taking care of our own business and getting off to good starts,” Deacon said. “That’s what it’s going to be for this team.
“We have unbelievable talent, we just need to take care of what each individual can control and we’re going to be in a great spot.”
Horsfield is just one stroke behind leader Blaine Hale from Oklahoma heading into the second round today. Neale starts the action for Florida when he tees off at 9:30 a.m.
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Sam Horsfield lines up a shot to start the third round of the SunTrust Invitational on Feb. 21, 2016, at UF's Mark Bostic Golf Course.
