The Florida men’s golf team had a strong second round at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational in Dallas, jumping to second place at 8 under par and featuring three golfers within the top-20.
Junior Alejandro Tosti had an impressive showing, boosting his even-par score to four under par with a team-high six birdies and two bogeys, good for a share of fourth place.
“(Tosti) had a big breakthrough,” coach J.C. Deacon said in a release. “We’ve been working on his reactions and attitude towards adversity.”
Two Gators finished the round in 13th place, both starting the round at even-par.
Junior Ryan Celano shot even par following five birdies and five bogeys to take a share of 13th place.
Sophomore Jorge Garcia also shot even par, carding three birdies and three bogeys.
Sophomore Gordon Neale had a slight improvement from the first round, sitting at 1 over par following a 1-under-par performance where he tallied five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey. He finished in a tie for 22nd.
While sophomore Sam Horsfield had a great first round that saw him in a tie for third, a rough second round lowered his score.
Horsfield tallied two bogeys, five bogeys and two double bogeys, and fell to 32nd place.
“We’ve got to focus on the things that we can control,” Deacon said. “We’ve got to play one shot at a time, we’ve got to do all the things that we’ve been talking about as a group to do.”
The Gators tee off in the final day of the Nike Golf Collegiate on Tuesday.
Women:
The women’s golf team had an uneven start to the Windy City Collegiate in Evanston, Illinois.
Over the first two rounds, Florida placed just one Gator within the top-20 and only one Gator finished under par, but the team finished the day in fifth place
Freshman Marta Perez was a bright spot for the Gators, who finished the first round at 2 over par in fifth place.
“Marta had a breakout round this afternoon,” coach Emily Glaser said in a release. “It’s really fun to watch our freshman compete as they get more comfortable with their role on our team.”
Over the course of two rounds, Perez nailed eight birdies and six bogeys, good for a tie for eighth place with a two-under-par score after Round 2.
Senior Maria Torres posted a score of two over par with five birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey to finish in a tie for 26th place.
Senior Karolina Vlckova shot 3 over par after carding six bogeys and three birdies, good for a share of 32th.
Senior Kelly Grassel struggled in the second round, where she failed to record a birdie. Over the first two rounds, the Chesterton, Indiana, native, shot six bogeys and two birdies to post a 4-over-par score and finish in a tie for 38th.
Freshman Carlotta Ricolfi couldn’t get going during the first two rounds, tallying six bogeys, a double bogey and five birdies to post a 3-over-par score, good for a share of 32th.
“I’m really excited with the fight our team showed in the second round,” Glaser said. “We rebounded to fire one of the lower afternoon rounds. That should serve as a confidence booster for us going into tomorrow.”
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Alejandro Tosti follows through on a swing at the 2016 SunTrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
