Five Gators Take on Field at U.S. Amateur
Tuesday, August 18, 2015 | Men's Golf
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Five golfers are representing the University of Florida men's golf team at the U.S. Amateur this week. Sophomore Alejandro Tosti and freshmen Sam Horsfield, Kyler Tate and Jorge Garcia teed off the tournament at Olympia Field Country Club on Monday. The Gator group also included Eric Banks, who graduated from UF in May.
The weeklong 2015 U.S. Amateur opens with two qualifying rounds of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday at the Olympia Fields Country Club's North and South courses. The 312-player field will then be cut to 64 golfers, who will continue on to match play on Wednesday. Wednesday through Sunday will consist of six rounds of match play at Olympia Fields North Course.
Television Coverage of the U.S. Amateur begins on Wednesday, with Fox Sports 1 broadcasting the event Wednesday through Friday and Fox airing the tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
Tosti, Garcia and Horsfield received exemptions for the U.S. Amateur by earning top-50 spots in a June World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Tosti was also a member of the 2014 Argentina World Amateur Team, while Horsfield was also a qualifier for the 2015 U.S. Open.
Banks and Tate qualified for the event through one of the 36-hole sectional qualifying tournaments held around the country. The pair both shot a 142, with Tate advancing from the Ocala, Fla., sectional and Banks advancing from the York, Maine, event.
Head coach JC Deacon is familiar with what the Gators will experience this week, as he advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur in 2005.
Scoring is available here.
Head Coach JC Deacon: “This is, without a doubt, the best amateur golf tournament in the world. The two golf courses they're competing on are absolutely unbelievable. The U.S. Amateur was one of the best tournaments I competed in. This experience really rivals what they're going to see in the future and on the PGA TOUR.”
Schedule of Play:
Monday: First round of stroke play (qualifying)
Tuesday: Second round of stroke play (qualifying)
Wednesday: First round of match play
Thursday: Second and third rounds of match play
Friday: Quarterfinal round of match play
Saturday: Semifinal round of match play
Sunday: Championship match (36 holes)
Television Coverage:
Wednesday: First round on Fox Sports 1, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Thursday: Second and third rounds on Fox Sports 1, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Friday: Quarterfinals on Fox Sports 1, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday: Semifinals on Fox, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday: Championship on Fox, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Follow the Gators: For complete coverage of the Gators' men's golf program, visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Men's Golf page on Facebook.
