Men's Golf Tees Off 2010 Spring Season at Arizona Invitational
Thursday, January 28, 2010 | Men's Golf
The University of Florida men's golf team will begin its spring season with its highest ranking of the 2009-10 season. Tapped as the third-ranked team in the country by Golfweek, the Gators will travel to Tuscon, Ariz. for the Arizona Invitational on Feb. 1 and 2. The squad will tee off at the par-71, 6,793-yard Arizona National Golf Club.
Head coach Buddy Alexander will travel with a lineup featuring two seniors, one redshirt junior, one junior and a freshman. Redshirt junior Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) finished the fall season with a 72.0 strove average. He has led the Gator lineup in the last three-consecutive tournaments. Seniors Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) and Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) will tee off from the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Alexander currently owns a 73.2 stroke average through three events and McKenney is averaging 75.3 after participating in two fall events.
Junior Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) is also making his third appearance of 2009-10 and sports a 72.7 stroke average. Rounding out the Florida lineup is freshman Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.). Fellow newcomer Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) will make his collegiate debut as he competes as an individual in Arizona.
The No. 3 Gators enter the Arizona Invitational as the highest-ranked team in the tournament field according to Golfweek's rankings. Sixth-ranked Texas A&M is the only other squad featured in the top-10. Other ranked teams competing in Tuscon are No. 18 UNLV, No. 24 San Diego State and No. 30 California. Reigning champion Pepperdine will also be participating.
The Arizona Invitational is a 54-hole event, which each squad playing 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday. The first round will tee off at 10 a.m. ET and will feature a shotgun start with continuous play for the second round. Live scoring is available at www.GatorZone.com and www.golfstat.com.
Florida Lineup
Class Stroke Average
1. Andres Echavarria RJr. 72.0
2. Tyson Alexander Sr. 73.2
3. Tim McKenney Sr. 75.3
4. Bank Vongvanij Jr. 72.7
5. Tyler McCumber Fr. 71.6
(I) Tommy Mou Fr. --
Tournament Field
Arizona (two squads)
California
Florida
Fresno State
Nevada
New Mexico
Northern Colorado
Pepperdine
San Diego State
Texas A&M
Texas-El Paso
Texas-San Antonio
UNLV
-UF-
