Florida showed its youth during its performance in its first tournament of the spring.
The Gators placed sixth out of 16 teams to end the two-day Sea Best Invitational on Tuesday afternoon, shooting a collective 918, 54 strokes over par.
North Florida and Liberty ended round three tied for first, each shooting 886 (+22). Liberty was declared the champion after shooting a lower score in round three.
Florida entered Day 2 of the tournament, hosted at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, tied for fifth with Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee and Winthrop.
Because darkness had fallen before the teams could complete Monday’s scheduled 36 holes, the Gators began Tuesday with their final three holes in round two, then finished with 18 holes in round three.
Coach Buddy Alexander was pleased with his team’s start this morning, but then things turned sour for the Gators.
“I think after nine holes we had moved up to about third place,” he said. “All five guys were hanging in there and playing pretty well, and then the bottom just kind of fell out.”
Alexander had put together a young lineup for Sea Best, starting two freshmen and a sophomore transfer in addition to junior J.D. Tomlinson and redshirt junior Santiago Gavino.
“Young teams sometimes have to learn how to keep it going,” Alexander said. “Sometimes they have to learn to get a good start and sometimes they have to learn how to finish.”
Sophomore transfer Richard Donegan ended his Florida debut tied for 24th place after shooting rounds of 73, 78 and 77, placing the highest of the Gators. He also led Monday for Florida when he finished the day tied for ninth place.
Tomlinson improved throughout the tournament, jumping from a tie for 48th place on Monday to a tie for 31st Tuesday. In his first round, he shot an uncharacteristic 79 (+7) but then played a 75 second round and 77 third round to finish at 15 strokes over par.
Freshman Ryan Orr and Gavino tied for 41st place, each shooting 233 (+17). Freshman Victor Tarnstrom rounded out the Gator lineup, ending in a tie for 46th place after shooting 234 (+18), one stroke more than Orr and Gavino.
Florida will next host the SunTrust Gator Invitational from Feb. 15-16 at Mark Bostick Golf Course. The Gators placed fourth out of 14 teams in last spring’s tournament.
“Now we’re halfway through the season and we have to start making progress,” Alexander said. “Hopefully the Gator (SunTrust Gator Invitational) will be a little better.”
Follow Layne Weitzel on Twitter @laynejweitzel
