Men's Golf to Honor 1973 Championship Team at Gator Golf Day
Thursday, November 11, 2010 | Men's Golf
University of Florida men's golf team will honor the 1973 Championship Team at Gator Golf Day on Friday, Nov. 12. In addition, the team will also be introduced at the football game on Saturday. The 1973 roster included golfers Andy Bean, Woody Blackburn, Ben Duncan, Phil Hancock, Gary Koch, Louis Minter and Steve Smyers. Bean, Blackburn, Duncan, Hancock and Koch were All-Americans at Florida.
The team was Florida's second team to win a National Championship and fourth team to win an SEC Championship. The Gators also won six other tournaments that season, including the Florida Intercollegiate, Seminole Invitational, Placid Lakes Intercollegiate Invitational, Miami Invitational, Cape Coral Invitational and the Chris Schenkel Invitational.
In addition, head coach Buster Bishop was named SEC coach of the year in 1973.
Gary Koch, a three time All-American led the Gators to the NCAA Championship in 1973 with his second-place finish. He was also the first Florida golfer to earn All-SEC First Team honors four times. Koch went on to record six PGA Tour first-place finishes and 44 top 10 finishes. He works as an announcer with NBC Sports while continuing to play events on the Champions Tour.
Andy Bean also finished his Florida career with three All-America honors and was named to the All-SEC First Team in 1973 and 1975 and the All-SEC Second Team in 1974. He played a strong role on the team, contributing a fifth-place showing at the NCAA Championships. After college, Bean finished in the Top 35 of the money list for 10-straight seasons and collected 11 PGA Tour Wins. He had 12 Top 25 finishes on the Champions Tour in 2009. In addition, he has 11 PGA Tour first-place finishes and 103 in the top 10.
Ben Duncan, Phil Hancock and Woody Blackburn finished ninth, 11th and 52nd respectively for Florida in the 1973 NCAA Championship. They all continued their careers in the PGA Tour, while Duncan made a Nationwide Debut in 1998, Blackburn made a Champions/Senior Debut in 2002 and Hancock made his Nationwide Debut in 1999 and Champions/Senior Debut in 2003.
Team captain Louis Minter and Steve Smyers will also be on hand for the honorary celebration at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
