TPC Sawgrass to provide hefty challenge for Gators as they open spring season
Monday, January 24, 2011 | Men's Golf, Track and Field, Scott Carter
The UF men's golf team opens its spring season next week at the Jacksonville University Invitational. The 15-team field features only two schools currently ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin Top 25: Florida (No. 3) and Wake Forest (No. 23).
But Gators coach Buddy Alexander expects the tournament to prep his team for what's to come. The tournament is being played at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, home to the PGA's annual The Players Championship in May.
More than that, the course will play much different than it will when the pros visit in a few months.
“We're expecting it to be cold and windy, which it usually is,'' Alexander said Monday. “It's not a terrific field, but it is a terrific golf course. The guys get fired up playing at tour venues. I think they are looking forward to the challenge. The course is going to be a lot easier in the spring.''
Alexander said the difficult conditions in the winter make TPC Sawgrass a good test for the SEC Championship later this season at Frederica Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga., where it's usually windy in mid-April.
As for Alexander's team, the Gators finished first, second and third in the three tournaments they played in the fall, led by senior Bank Vongvanij, who leads the team with a 69.2 strokes average and sophomore Tyler McCumber's 69.3 average per round.
