Men's Golf Set to Begin NCAA Championship Action
Monday, May 25, 2009 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team will make its ninth-straight appearance at the NCAA Championships this week when they begin play on Tuesday at the historic Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The sixth-ranked Gators enter the tournament after winning the NCAA Southwest Regional in Austin, Texas two weeks ago at the University of Texas Golf Club.
Florida will be seeking its fifth title, and third under current head coach Buddy Alexander. In 22 years at Florida, Alexander has led the Gators to 21 appearances in the NCAA Championships, two national titles and two runner-up finishes. UF will tee off on Tuesday at 12:12 p.m. and will be grouped with Alabama and top-ranked Oklahoma State. They will pair with the same two teams on Wednesday for the second round at 7:00 a.m.
Teams will be regrouped for the third and final round of stroke play on Thursday. Beginning this year, the field will be narrowed down to eight teams after 54 holes of stroke play. The individual champion will be crowned after the stroke play portion, while the eight remaining teams will be put into a match play bracket to decide the team champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Friday and the championship match will be Saturday. For the first time since 1965, the winner will not be determined by total strokes.
The Inverness Club has played host to eight major championships since 1920, including four U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships. The NCAA Championship has been held at the Donald Ross designed course only once before, in 1944.
The Gators have a good history at the Inverness Club, winning the Inverness Invitational twice (2002, 2005) and finishing third in their other two appearances (2006, 2007). Senior Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) has two top-10 finishes playing at the Inverness Club and junior Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) finished in a tie for 10th at the 2007 Invitational.
After tying for fourth at the NCAA Central Regional in 2008, Florida sat in fourth at the NCAA Championships after two rounds to make the cut. After a disappointing final round, the Gators finished in 11th place. Horschel finished in sixth place individually.
Coach Alexander's lineup this week is not short on experience. All five players in the lineup have played in over 20 collegiate tournaments, as well as played in postseason action more than one time. The 2009 SEC Golfer of the Year, Horschel leads the team with 47 career appearances and a 71.17 stroke average on the season, the best in the SEC.
Junior Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.), a second-team All-SEC performer, is looking to regain his early season form, when he had a stretch of four-straight top-five finishes. Tyson Alexander is coming off a tie for seventh at the NCAA Southwest Regional and has five top-20 finishes this year.
Seniors Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.) round out the lineup for the week. Both players earned their first collegiate wins in 2009. Strickler won the inaugural Golden Ocala Collegiate, while Ragland outlasted Horschel in a seven-hole playoff to win the 2009 SunTrust Gator Invitational.
There will be live hole-by-hole scoring available online for the entire tournament at www.golfstat.com. At the conclusion of the day's play, results will be posted online at www.gatorzone.com.
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