Commodores Close Fast, Gators Gear Toward Next Time

Junior Gordon Neale, left, talks with head coach J.C. Deacon during Sunday's final round of the Gator SunTrust Invitational. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Commodores Close Fast, Gators Gear Toward Next Time

Sunday, February 18, 2018 | Men's Golf, Scott Carter

Florida opened Sunday's final round of the SunTrust Gator Invitational only a shot back of Vanderbilt, but the Commodores pulled away for the title.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With his teammates scattered around the 18th green late Sunday afternoon, UF junior Gordon Neale quietly rolled in a short par putt to conclude an even-par round of 70.

The previous day, Neale didn't need to putt on the 18th after he holed his approach shot from 120 yards out for an eagle, the dramatic finish to a long day sending the gallery home abuzz and wondering if this would be the year the Gators broke through to win their only home tournament of the season.

Neale opened the final round of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Sunday tied for third, only two shots back. Meanwhile, Florida was even closer to the top, trailing Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt by just a shot with a round to play at Mark Bostick Golf Course.

It was the Commodores who finished with a flurry Sunday, shooting a final round 270 -- the lowest team round of the tournament -- to pull away from the Gators and win by nine shots. Vanderbilt's John Augenstein (a final-round 64) and Will Gordon (66) led the way as the Commodores (274-278-270--822) turned it on at the right time to fend off the Gators (275-278-178--831).

Neale remained in contention for the individual title until faltering on the back nine with bogies at 14, 16 and 17. Even if he had stayed hot, the Commodores had a sizable lead down the stretch.

"You can't really stop that,'' Neale said. "You just have to try and do the same thing."

50558 — Sophomore Andy Zhang fired Florida's best round Sunday, shooting a 2-under par 68. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Instead, the Gators turned in a steady performance Sunday as Neale, Alejandro Tosti and John Axelsen each turned in even-par 70s. Sophomore Andy Zhang had Florida's best round of the day, shooting a 2-under 68.

While the Gators played a consistent round, Vanderbilt played a superb one.

"For them to come out and play like this, that's very clutch,'' Zhang said. "I feel like we can do the same, but it just wasn't our day."

Sunday's final round served as the latest installment in what has turned into a strong rivalry between the Gators and Commodores. Florida went to Nashville last season and won the Mason Rudolph Challenge, Vanderbilt's home tournament. The Commodores rebounded with a match-play victory over the Gators at the SEC Championships.

And Sunday, with the Gators in good position to claim their first SunTrust Gator Invitational since 2011, the Commodores won for the first time in the event's 41-year history. Defending champion Arkansas finished tied for eighth.

In his fourth season, Gators head coach J.C. Deacon has a team built to contend for the conference and perhaps national title later in the season. He had mixed emotions on Sunday. On one hand, Deacon wanted to see the Gators win on their home course, but on the other, he didn't want to make more of the second-place finish than it deserved.

"We just didn't have our best stuff,'' he said. "We've got to be better if you're going to beat teams like Vanderbilt. They have been a high-level team for a long time and you've got to have your best stuff. We just didn't have it.

"We play here so many times you think it would be easy to win. We'll figure it out one of these times."

More than anything, Vanderbilt won Sunday. Liberty, which finished sixth, was the only team within five strokes of the Commodores in the final round.

If the Gators needed any more proof of where they stand, Vanderbilt showed them.

"That's why I love playing against them,'' Deacon said. "We find events to play against each other because I know they are going to bring it. They bring the best out of us and hopefully we do the same for them. We didn't do that today but we'll be back."

To get there, the Gators planned to return to work Monday to be sharper the next go-round against the Commodores.