After a 13th-place finish at the Chris Schenkel Invitational on March 14-16, coach Buddy Alexander expressed his disappointment in Florida’s lack of improvement.
The Gators responded to their coach by finishing in fourth place, scoring 866 (+2) at the two-day Old Waverly Collegiate Championship in West Point, Miss. Their finish in their regular-season finale marked their best of the spring season and second best of the year.
Tournament host Mississippi State won the first-place trophy with a total score of 859 (-5). Barrett Edens of Mississippi State and Marco Iten of Austin Peay shared the individual honor, each shooting 207 (-9).
“Probably our best tournament of the year in terms of consistency,” Alexander said in a release.
“All five guys were kind of in every round at least to a certain extent. I thought that was a positive. We actually were in the golf tournament to a certain degree as well, just could never get any real momentum going to make a move up the leaderboard, but we hung in there pretty well.”
There was no doubt that J.D. Tomlinson was in every round.
The junior shot even par in the first round and two-under in both Rounds 2 and 3, ending the tournament with a 212 (-4) and a tie for fifth place. Tomlinson’s under-par score was his second straight, and it was his third top-five finish of the season.
“J.D. is having a solid year, and he’s a solid player,” Alexander said. “It doesn’t appear to me as though there’s a lot in his game that should ever go bad.”
Fellow junior Eric Banks finished just outside the top 10 in a tie for 13th place. He shot even par overall, totaling 216 strokes with rounds of 69, 73 and 74.
Ryan Orr’s best round was his last, when he shot 70 (-2) after first and second rounds of 76 and 74. He finished four over par at 220 and in a tie for 28th place.
Richard Donegan and Victor Tarnstrom tied one another for 41st place, sharing a score of 222 (+6).
Donegan shot rounds of 73, 76 and 73, while Tarnstrom gradually improved with rounds of 75, 74 and 73.
This showing marks a huge positive for the Gators heading into the Southeastern Conference Championship at the end of the month and a sign of improvement in Alexander’s eyes.
“Again, I see this team improving, and unfortunately, we just ran out of time,” he said.
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J.D. Tomlinson tees off on Day 2 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 16 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
