Sunday, February 18
Gainesville, FL
ALL DAY
Florida Gators
vs
SunTrust Gator Invitational
Florida set to host 41st SunTrust Gator Inviational
Friday, February 16, 2018 | Men's Golf
Gators look to win tournament for first time since 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida is set to host the 41st edition of the SunTrust Gator Invitational this weekend at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
The Gators will look to win their home tournament for the first time since 2011. This year's tournament is one of the deepest to date including five teams that are No. 27 or better in the latest Golfstat rankings.
Last year, the Gators took fourth in the event while having four players finish in the top ten of the leaderboard.
Alejandro Tosti and Andy Zhang were Florida's top two finishers tying for sixth at the event at 1-over par. Tosti and Zhang help along with junior Gordon Neale help anchor the lineup this season forming the No. 1 to No. 3 for the Gators.
This is the third time this season the they have formed the top three for Florida including at the Trinity Forest where the Gators won by 10 strokes.
Rounding out the lineup is freshman John Axelsen and sophomore Blake Dyer who are in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions for the second straight tournament.
First round play begins tomorrow morning with a shotgun start at 8:00 a.m. with continuous play to round two tomorrow. The final round will be played Sunday with the first tee time set for 8:00 a.m.
Coach's Take
On playing at home -- "We get to play it day in and day out. They know where to miss and where the good spots. Our senior, Alejandro Tosti, probably has more than 200 rounds played here in his life so, that's definitely a big advantage. We haven't won this tournament since 2011 and I know that our guys want to do that. Hopefully, we take that home course advantage and make it count." -JC Deacon
On players to watch -- "Alejandro had a great qualifying. We played a five round qualifier and he shot a bunch under par. He might have had two rounds over par but, probably had two 65 or below. He's playing great golf, really solid but, I'm expecting if we are going to be something this year we have to have all five guys in the lineup contributing so we just don't want to lean on Tosti." -Deacon
On the competitive field -- "That has been a goal of mine since I got here to make it more and more competitive. Having Vanderbilt come every year -- Scott Limbaugh does a great job with his program. I think we have four or five SEC schools coming this year. So, we are seeing the best of the best." -Deacon
Course Information: The tournament is being played at the Par 70, 6,701 yards at Mark Bostick Golf Course. It has served as the Gators home course since the 1960s and has been the home to the Gator Invitational since 1978.
Format: 54-hole stroke play where teams will play two rounds over three days. The first 36-holes will be played on Saturday.
The Gators' Lineup
Neale is penciled in in the No. 1 slot by Deacon for the third straight tournament. He finished fourth at the Tavistock Collegiate one stroke back of Axelsen at 6-under par.
The Gator senior won the Carpet Capital to kick off the fall schedule while finishing in the top 25 a team best three times in 2017.
Andy Zhang
Zhang reenters the lineup for the first time since the Nike Collegiate. Zhang is coming off of a second place finish at the Asia-Pacific Am and a T12 place finish at the Singapore Open where he finished as the top amateur.
John Axelsen
This is the fourth time this season the Denmark native is in the lineup. The last time out he was the Gators top finisher at the Tavistock Collegiate placing third in the event at 7-under par
Dyer is in the Florida lineup for the second time this season. He will be making his third tournament appearance, competing as an individual at the Trinity Forest and in the No. 5 spot at the Tavistock.
Also Competing
Chris Nido
Nido is not in the Gator lineup for the first time this season but, will compete as an individual. He finished tied for 44th at the Tavistock the last time out.
Won Jun Lee
The Gator freshman will compete in his second tournament and his first as an individual. He was Florida's top finisher at the Nike Collegiate where he tied for 14th.
Follow the Action
Play will begin on Saturday, February 17th. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following each day's play.
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
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The Gators will look to win their home tournament for the first time since 2011. This year's tournament is one of the deepest to date including five teams that are No. 27 or better in the latest Golfstat rankings.
Last year, the Gators took fourth in the event while having four players finish in the top ten of the leaderboard.
Alejandro Tosti and Andy Zhang were Florida's top two finishers tying for sixth at the event at 1-over par. Tosti and Zhang help along with junior Gordon Neale help anchor the lineup this season forming the No. 1 to No. 3 for the Gators.
This is the third time this season the they have formed the top three for Florida including at the Trinity Forest where the Gators won by 10 strokes.
Rounding out the lineup is freshman John Axelsen and sophomore Blake Dyer who are in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions for the second straight tournament.
First round play begins tomorrow morning with a shotgun start at 8:00 a.m. with continuous play to round two tomorrow. The final round will be played Sunday with the first tee time set for 8:00 a.m.
Coach's Take
On playing at home -- "We get to play it day in and day out. They know where to miss and where the good spots. Our senior, Alejandro Tosti, probably has more than 200 rounds played here in his life so, that's definitely a big advantage. We haven't won this tournament since 2011 and I know that our guys want to do that. Hopefully, we take that home course advantage and make it count." -JC Deacon
On players to watch -- "Alejandro had a great qualifying. We played a five round qualifier and he shot a bunch under par. He might have had two rounds over par but, probably had two 65 or below. He's playing great golf, really solid but, I'm expecting if we are going to be something this year we have to have all five guys in the lineup contributing so we just don't want to lean on Tosti." -Deacon
On the competitive field -- "That has been a goal of mine since I got here to make it more and more competitive. Having Vanderbilt come every year -- Scott Limbaugh does a great job with his program. I think we have four or five SEC schools coming this year. So, we are seeing the best of the best." -Deacon
Course Information: The tournament is being played at the Par 70, 6,701 yards at Mark Bostick Golf Course. It has served as the Gators home course since the 1960s and has been the home to the Gator Invitational since 1978.
Format: 54-hole stroke play where teams will play two rounds over three days. The first 36-holes will be played on Saturday.
The Gators' Lineup
Neale is penciled in in the No. 1 slot by Deacon for the third straight tournament. He finished fourth at the Tavistock Collegiate one stroke back of Axelsen at 6-under par.
The Gator senior won the Carpet Capital to kick off the fall schedule while finishing in the top 25 a team best three times in 2017.
Andy Zhang
Zhang reenters the lineup for the first time since the Nike Collegiate. Zhang is coming off of a second place finish at the Asia-Pacific Am and a T12 place finish at the Singapore Open where he finished as the top amateur.
John Axelsen
This is the fourth time this season the Denmark native is in the lineup. The last time out he was the Gators top finisher at the Tavistock Collegiate placing third in the event at 7-under par
Dyer is in the Florida lineup for the second time this season. He will be making his third tournament appearance, competing as an individual at the Trinity Forest and in the No. 5 spot at the Tavistock.
Also Competing
Chris Nido
Nido is not in the Gator lineup for the first time this season but, will compete as an individual. He finished tied for 44th at the Tavistock the last time out.
Won Jun Lee
The Gator freshman will compete in his second tournament and his first as an individual. He was Florida's top finisher at the Nike Collegiate where he tied for 14th.
Follow the Action
Play will begin on Saturday, February 17th. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following each day's play.
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
Players Mentioned
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