No. 7 Gators Men's Golf Opens Season at Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
Thursday, September 15, 2011 | Men's Golf
The No. 7 Florida men's golf team will open its 2011-12 season at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational looking to defend its 2010 title. The tournament, which runs Friday thru Sunday, Sept. 16-18, is hosted by the University of Illinois and will be played at the famed Olympia Fields North Course.
“You're always excited going into the fall,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “It's a new year and everyone is looking to get out there and find out what we've got.”
The Gators will send out a lineup of T.J. Vogel (Cooper City, Fla.), J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville, Fla.), Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.), Michael Furci (Sayville, N.Y.) and Tommy Mou (Bradenton, Fla.) for the tournament, which features 10 teams ranked in the Golfworld/Nike Golf coaches' poll.
“This is the way they qualified (for the lineup) and this is the way we're going to send them out,” explained Alexander.
Last season at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, the Gators used rounds of 280-280-285 to lead wire-to-wire and earn a seven-stroke victory over eventual national champion Augusta State. Leading the way for the Orange and Blue in 2010 were a trio of golfers who finished in the top-10 – Bank Vongvanij (2nd, 207), McCumber (T5th, 211) and Andres Echavarria (T7th, 212).
Live scoring for the tournament will be available through www.golfstat.com.
The Gators, coached by Alexander in his 25th season, return four letterwinners from the 2011 SEC Champions, a squad that captured five tournament titles.
Tournament Field (Golfworld/Nike Golf coaches' poll rankings in parentheses)
Oklahoma State (2)
Alabama (3)
Texas (5)
Florida (7)
Duke (8)
Auburn (9)
Stanford (12)
Illinois (13)
Ohio State (20)
Augusta State (22)
Arizona State (RV)
Florida State (RV)
Northwestern (RV)
Indiana
Notre Dame
