Gators face tough competition at Puerto Rico Inv.
Thursday, February 26, 2009 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team is in San Juan, Puerto Rico this weekend for the Puerto Rico Invitational, hosted at the Rio Mar Resort by Purdue University. The three-round tournament will begin on Friday and conclude on Sunday.
The tournament boasts four of the top-five teams in the country, with No. 2 Georgia leading the way. Oklahoma State is ranked third, Alabama is fourth and Florida rounds out the top five. Every team in the field is ranked in the top-70 of the latest GolfWeek ratings: No. 8 Clemson, No. 24 East Tennessee State, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 69 Kent State, No. 36 Michigan, No. 65 Minnesota, No. 46 N.C. State, No. 51 Northwestern, No. 64 Purdue, No. 15 Texas and No. 61 Virginia Tech.
Having some of the nation's best teams also means that several of the top individuals will be playing in the event this weekend. Five of the top-10 golfers in the GolfWeek ratings will tee it up on Friday, led by Oklahoma State's Trent Leon, the highest-rated player in the country. Florida's lineup includes four players rated in the top-100, the most out of any team in the field.
The Gators enter the weekend coming off two-straight victories. They claimed their sixth-straight SunTrust Gator Invitational title Feb. 14-15 by 18 strokes over Ole Miss. Senior Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) earned the individual medal after beating out senior teammate Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) in a seven-hole playoff.
In their first event of the spring, the Orange and Blue took home the title at the inaugural Golden Ocala Collegiate, winning by 26 strokes and shooting 18-under par in the two-round event. Senior Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.) earned his first collegiate title, with a 36-hole total of 138 (-6).
Ragland will play at the top of the lineup this weekend, with Horschel playing in the No. 2 spot. Juniors Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) will play in the three and four spots, respectively. Freshman Mu Hu (Shen Zhen, China) rounds out the lineup.
There will be no live scoring for this event. Results will be posted on GatorZone.com at the end of each day's competition.
