Florida Gators
Jerry Pate National
Florida Men’s Golf in Third, Trio of Gators in Top 10 Entering Final Round of Jerry Pate National
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 | Men's Golf
The 23rd-ranked University of Florida men's golf team shot 12-under par in Round 2 of the Jerry Pate National on Monday to secure a third-place position entering the final round of competition on Tuesday. After opening Round 1 in seventh place, every Gator shot under par in the squad's second-round comeback to help the team improve four spots on the leaderboard and place three Gators in the top 10.
Florida began the day at the Old Overton Club by recording a 7-over 287. They quickly rebounded with a -12 (868) to wrap up the day in third place with a 5-under 855, one stroke shy of second-place Auburn.
Florida's second-round -12 (868) matched leader Alabama's Round 2 score and was the lowest 18-hole score by any team over the tournament's first two rounds. It also marked the lowest 18-hole score of the season so far for the Orange and Blue, whose previous best round was 3-under par.
Sam Horsfield's rounds of 2-under 68 and 3-under 67 propelled the freshman into a tie for second place with a total score of 5-under 135. Horsfield was bogey-free through his first 20 holes and totaled eight birdies over the day's pair of rounds.
Freshman Kyler Tate was 4-over par through 12 holes in the morning round before he fired three-straight birdies, followed by three-straight pars, to close out the round +1 (71). He then shot -2 (70) in Round 2, highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 seventh hole. With a total score of -1 (139), he's tied for ninth.
Also tied for ninth is freshman Jorge Garcia, who began the day with a score of 5-over 75 before rebounding to shoot 11 strokes better in the second round. After opening Round 2 with back-to-back bogeys, he finished with a bang, collecting eight birdies and going bogey-free throughout his final 16 holes.
Joining the trio in the top 20 was sophomore Alejandro Tosti, who posted rounds of 73-69 to wrap up the day +2 (142) and tied for 18th.
Like his teammates, junior Ryan Orr improved as the day went on. He carded rounds of 75-69 to tie for 29th with a 54-hole total of 4-over 144.
Play continues Tuesday at the Old Overton Club with the final round of the tournament. The Gators begin teeing off at 8:50 a.m. CT (9:50 a.m. ET).
Head Coach JC Deacon:
On Monday's rounds:
“It was an absolute honor and privilege to coach beside my mentor and one of the most important people in my life, Dwaine Knight, the coach at UNLV. I'm really proud of our guys because we didn't start well again and we just hung in there. The guys weren't playing the way they had been the last week or so, but they hung tough, their attitudes were awesome and we made some birdies in the first round to finish. The second round, again, we just hung in there and then exploded on the back nine there. That's what this team is capable of doing, but our attitudes left us in a condition where we could take advantage of a hot streak like that. I'm really proud of the guys' determination and how hard they fought today.”
On the Gators' second-round success:
“We have the talent. There's no question we have the talent. It's just the matter of getting our attitudes, determination and confidence level up to meet that talent level, and that happened today in the second round. This is how good we can be. We showed it against the best teams in the country today, and I'm really excited. I hope it's a step in the direction of where I want to lead this team to go.”
On Jorge Garcia staying positive after a slow first-round start:
“A week ago, I was probably harder on Jorge than I've been on about any player in my coaching career. We had a heart-to-heart and a conversation about it. He said that he wanted to get better and improve on this aspect of his game. He really took it seriously this week, and he showed it today because he played poorly this morning and then got off to a bad start in the afternoon. All of his focus was on having a good attitude and being determined, and then he goes and shoots 64. It's a cool moment in coaching because you love it when someone does the right thing to make the reward worth it. I'm proud of Jorge. He's turning into a leader. We're really going to be able to win with people like him.”
The Orange and Blue Crew: Florida Scores After Round 2
T2. Sam Horsfield -5 (135)
T9. Jorge Garcia -1 (139)
T9. Kyler Tate -1 (139)
T18. Alejandro Tosti +2 (142)
T29. Ryan Orr +4 (144)
Tournament Field Results: Team Standings After Round 2
1. Alabama -14 (546)
2. Auburn -6 (554)
3. FLORIDA -5 (555)
4. Florida State -2 (558)
5. UNLV +6 (566)
6. UAB +9 (569)
7. Arkansas +11 (571)
8. Baylor +13 (573)
9. UTSA +14 (574)
10. Kennesaw State +24 (584)
11. Mississippi State +26 (586)
12. Charlotte +30 (590)
For full results, click here.
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