A little bit of rain couldn’t stop Florida from getting off to a promising start in its final regular-season tournament.
The Gators are competing at the two-day Old Waverly Collegiate Championship in West Point, Miss. The 15-team field was scheduled to begin play at 8:30 a.m. Monday, but a flash flood from the night before caused a delay.
None of the teams made it through the scheduled two rounds of 18 holes each before the tournament was suspended due to darkness.
Florida stands in a tie for third with Southeastern Conference foe Ole Miss, totaling a score of 289 (+1) through one round.
Cincinnati sits at the top of the field with a score of 284 (-4).
“We played reasonably well today, nothing spectacular,” coach Buddy Alexander said in a release. “Our two juniors played solid all day, and everybody contributed a little bit beyond that.”
Eric Banks, one of the two juniors, leads the Gators after shooting 69 (-3) in the first round. He shot even par on 15 holes and made three birdies, leading to a tie for second place.
J.D. Tomlinson, Florida’s other junior, broke even on par with a 72, earning him a tie for 16th place. Tomlinson finished with two bogeys and one double bogey while also recording four birdies.
Richard Donegan has continued his solid play from the Valspar Invitational two weeks ago. Through the first round, he shot 73 (+1) with three birdies and is tied for 22nd place.
Victor Tarnstrom and Ryan Orr rounded out the five-man Gator lineup. Tarnstrom shot 75 (+3), and Orr totaled 76 (+4). They sit in a tie for 43rd and a tie for 58th place, respectively.
The field will finish out the second round today at 9:30 a.m. and then conclude the tournament immediately afterward with a shotgun start for the third and final round.
If the Gators improve their game or at least stay consistent, they have a shot to record their best placement this season since finishing in a tie for third at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in October. They are only five strokes out from tying Cincinnati for the lead.
“Hopefully we’ll have a chance to win a golf tournament tomorrow, and the weather will cooperate to get all 54 holes in,” Alexander said, “but today was a step in the right direction from a competitive standpoint.”
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