The Florida men’s golf team entered the final round of the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in fourth place at 20 over.
None of the 15 teams finished with a score under par after the first day of the event, but that was not the case in the second.
Seven teams were below even par, including the Gators, who tied Rutgers for the best second-day score (7 under).
However, UF’s strong performance on Saturday did not make up for its poor showing in the opening round. Florida ended the tournament in third place with a score of 13 over, eight strokes behind first-place Ohio State.
Florida had four starters place in the top 25, which led to its second-best finish of the 2018-19 campaign.
“I’m very proud of all the guys,” coach J.C. Deacon said in a release. “For us to come up with one of our best rounds of the year when we needed it most — that’s so awesome.”
Sophomore Chris Nido and senior Gordon Neale led the Gators with a 3-under scores in the final round.
Nido posted four birdies on his last four holes, while Neale had only one bogey on the last day.
“For Chris (Nido) and Gordon (Neale) to step up like they did is so huge,” Deacon said. “Both shooting 68 and Chris making four birdies to finish his round takes some serious guts.”
Redshirt junior Blake Dyer made his second start of the spring season and finished in a tie for 17th with a score of 4 over.
He failed to make a birdie on Friday but posted two on Saturday, which helped Dyer earn his best finish of the year.
Sophomore John Axelsen finished in the top 25, too.
Axelsen parred his first 12 holes in the final round before posting a birdie on the back nine. It was enough to tie for 21st at 5 over.
UF recorded three times as many birdies in the final round (18) than in the first (6). Freshman Aden Ye and Nido led the team with five and six birdies, respectively, on the second day of the tournament.
The Robert Kepler Intercollegiate was Florida’s last event of the regular season before it competes in the 2019 SEC Championships.
“What a great way to head into our conference championships,” Deacon said. “We are all excited to keep the momentum of this huge round going.”
Follow Bryan Matamoros on Twitter @bmatamoros_ and contact him at bmatamoros@alligator.org.
Senior Gordon Neale finished the finished three-under par in the final round of the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.
