Men's Golf Slips Spot at SEC's

Saturday, April 20

Sea Island, GA

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

SEC Championships

Men's Golf Slips Spot at SEC's

Saturday, April 20, 2002 | Men's Golf

After taking an early lead in round one of the 2002 Southeastern Conference Championships at the Sea Island Golf Course, the No. 4 University of Florida men's golf team slipped to a tie for second after round two. The Gators shot 14-over in Saturday's second round to sit with Louisiana State in second with 578.

Taking the lead, was Auburn who shot 2-over 282 Saturday to total 7-over 567. Jumping from sixth to fourth, Tennessee shot 5-over 285 for 581 total and defending champion Georgia is in fifth with 282. Florida also lost the individual lead to Auburn with Jay Mundy surpassing Florida's Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) with his 67 of round two for 137 total. The No. 1 Villegas turned in 70 Saturday to give him a two-day total of 138.

After opening the tournament tied for second, senior Camilo Benedetti (Medellin, Colombia) dropped to T6 with his 2-over 142. The only other UF golfer in the top-20, Dalton Melnyk (Jacksonville, Fla.) carded a second-round 74 to give him 7-over 147 and a tie for 20th.

Junior-transfer Ari Savolainen (Helsinki, Finland) struggled in his second round finishing at 8-over 78 for 11-over 151 total. Finishing the lineup for the Gators, senior Ben Banks (Surrey, England) shot 80 Saturday to tie for 55th with 19-over 159.

The final round of the tournament will play on Sunday, April 21. Banks will be the first UF golfer to tee off with his time of 10:30 a.m. Florida finished runner-up to the Georgia Bulldogs in last year's tournament after fighting off a late charge by Auburn in the final round.

Agate

2002 SEC Championships

Sea Island Golf Course

Round 2

Par: 70

Yardage: 6,788

Team Standings

1. Auburn 567

2. Louisiana State 578

Florida 578

4. Tennessee 581

5. Georgia 582

6. Vanderbilt 585

7. Arkansas 589

8. South Carolina 591

9. Alabama 594

10. Mississippi 598

11. Kentucky 599