Florida Gators

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The University of Florida men's golf team clinched its first victory of the spring season Tuesday at the TPC Sawgrass-Dye's Valley. In a consistent 10-15 mph breeze, the Gators shot a 284 (+4) to finish the tournament at 836 (-4), putting the Orange and Blue in first place by nine strokes.
This is the second year in a row that Florida has won the Sea Best Invitational.

The Gators also held the top two spots on the individual leaderboard for the second consecutive time. Senior Ryan Orr placed first—his first collegiate victory—and junior Alejandro Tosti came in second for the second-straight year.

Playing as an individual, Orr carded two birdies on his way to a 71 (+1). His total of 204 (-6) was a new collegiate low, besting the 209 mark he set at the 2016 Sea Best Invitational. With the 71, Orr now has an average score of 68.8 over his last six rounds at Dye's Valley.

After carding back-to-back rounds of 68 on Monday, Tosti posted a 69 (-1) during his final round. The total score of 205 (-5) was the junior's best in his collegiate career, breaking his score of 206 at the 2016 Sea Best Invitational. In the past three tournaments with the Gators, Tosti has finished in the top three (3^rd at Nike Collegiate, 1^st at Tavistock Collegiate). Sophomore Sam Horsfield also had a solid day, tallying five birdies while shooting a three-under 67.
 
Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On his overall emotions after the win…
"Really happy for the guys, and most happy because they prepared very, very well for this week. We've had great weather in Florida the last two months and the guys have taken advantage of it, spent a lot of time at the course prepping for this week and it showed. (The team) had a tough circumstance today, a one-shot lead in pretty tough conditions with a very demanding golf course and the guys played fantastic golf. My hats off to them, for sure."
 
On what he will take away from the victory…
"Being rewarded for our preparation. That's the best month that this team has ever had since I got to Gainesville. I hope that that sticks with the players and they realize that preparation does pay off. I'm happy for them. It's good momentum, good atmosphere and a good jolt of energy for us in general. We'll get home, get back to work and work on the things that we didn't do as well this week and continue to try and get better and build for the end of the season."
 
Senior Ryan Orr
On what was going through his head after winning…
"It's really good now; I'm sure it'll settle in more, maybe throughout the day, maybe next week. It's a really, really good feeling to finally get a win again. I haven't won in a long time and it's my first collegiate victory, so it really feels good."
 
On how he can use the success of the victory going forward…
"Just know that patience is a virtue. Just keep your head down, keep working as hard as you can. You never know when you're going to win and play your best and come out on top."
 
Final Florida Scores
Team:
1.   FLORIDA           -4 (277-275-284-836)
2.   Lipscomb           +5 (278-283-284-845)
3.   Liberty               +9 (283-286-280-849)
4.   Arkansas           +13 (291-272-290-853)
5.   North Carolina     +15 (280-273-302-855)
6.   Jacksonville       +17 (287-284-286-857)
T7.  Florida State       +18 (281-281-296-858)
T7. North Florida       +18 (282-283-293-858)
9.   Tennessee         +23 (287-288-288-863)
10. Campbell            +35 (296-285-294-875)
11.  SMU                  +41 (289-299-294-881)
12.  ECU                  +46 (294-294-298-886)
13. Charleston Sou.  +57 (298-301-298-897)
14.  Winthrop            +75 (305-307-303-915)
15.  USC Upstate      +82 (307-304-311-922)
Players:
1.         Ryan Orr*            -6 (67-66-71-204)
2.         Alejandro Tosti    -5 (68-68-69-205)
T5.        Gordon Neale   -2 (68-68-72-208)
T18.      Sam Horsfield    +5 (79-69-67-215)
T30.      Jorge Garcia     +9 (73-70-76-219)
T63.      Ryan Celano     +16 (68-78-80-226)
T72.      A.J. Crouch*      +22 (78-74-80-232)
*Playing as an individual
Full Leaderboard
 
Follow the Gators: The next tournament for the Orange and Blue is the SunTrust Gator Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course. Play will begin February 18.
 
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