Ragland and UF earn weekly honors
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | Men's Golf
University of Florida senior golfer Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) earned Golfweek's Player of the Week honor and the Gators earned the Team of the Week honor, announced earlier this week by Golfweek. Ragland took home the individual medal at the SunTrust Gator Invitational last weekend and led UF to the team victory.
The senior outlasted teammate Billy Horschel and UCF's Simon Ward in a playoff to claim his first collegiate title. All three players made par on the first two playoff holes, before Ragland and Horschel each made birdie putts on the par-five third to knock Ward out of contention. After making par on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, Ragland sank a putt for birdie on the seventh hole to clinch the victory.
Ragland's weekend started out hot, shooting a 68 (-2) in the first round and a career-low 65 (-5) in the second round to take a two-shot lead into the final day. After some struggles on the back nine Sunday, Ragland finished in a three-way tie at five-under par 205 after 54 holes. He played outstanding in the playoff, shooting two-under par through the seven playoff holes.
The Gators made it two victories in two spring starts for the Orange and Blue, which won convincingly at the SunTrust Gator Invitational. Florida finished 18 shots clear of runner-up Ole Miss and was the only team to finish the 54-hole event under par at 16-under.
Up next for the Florida is a trip to San Juan, where they will play in the Puerto Rico Invitational Feb. 27-Mar. 1. The three-day event is hosted by Purdue at the Rio Mar Resort.
