Wednesday, March 7
Las Vegas, NV
ALL DAY
Florida Gators
at
Southern Highlands
Freshman Chris Nido, far left, carded six birdies in Wednesday's final round. (File photo)
Gators capture Southern Highlands title by four strokes
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 | Men's Golf
Florida wins for second time this season and first time at Highlands.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- After shooting a 284 (-4) third round, the Gators captured the Southern Highlands Collegiate on Wednesday by four strokes.
This is the second time this season Florida will be taking home some hardware as it also captured the Trinity Forest in September.
After ending the second round one stroke off the lead, the Gators got a clutch third round from freshman Chris Nido who carded a 4-under final 18. Nido was bogey-free through the first 12 holes and ended the day with a team-best six birdies. He moved up 26 spots in round three to finish tied for 15th on the leaderboard.
Sophomore Andy Zhang also went low on Wednesday. Zhang started the day off by sinking three birdies in the first four holes. He score of 71 (-1) helped him move up 16 positions on the leaderboard to tie for 20th.
For the third straight round, John Axelsen had his round of 72 (E) count for the Gators. He would finish in a tie for 15th at even par for the tournament.
Gordon Neale was Florida's top finisher at the event posting a 2-under par score for the week tying for 7th with three other players.
Individually, freshman Won Jun Lee finished in a four-way tie for 11th with a three round total of 215 (-1).
Coach's Take
On feelings going into final day -- ".I knew that we were right in it after day two. A shot here or there really didn't make a difference. The main thing that we talked about was to come back out and get back to their sharp decision making. If we did that, I didn't know exactly where we would finish up but, at least you leave here happy." -- Assistant Coach Mark Leon
On strategy going into final round -- "Talking to JC, we knew that the pins were going to be difficult and the course was going to have a really difficult set-up. The gameplan was to be really patient, discipline and pick the right targets. The guys really responded. They came out super fast out of the gate and that set the tone for the day." -- Leon
On Chris Nido -- "Chris has been in a lot of ways one of the more valuable players for us this year. It doesn't always show up where he finishes at the end of the week. He comes out of the gate in every tournament really strong. His first round scoring average is amazing. Then he stumbles and then his third round scores are great. His value to the team is incredible because he's usually posting two great scores. And today same thing, he anchored us." -- Leon
On John Axelsen -- "Johnny really played solid golf. He got put on the clock yesterday and may have been in position for a top 5 or even a win but, he had never been in that position before where the whole group had been clocked. To his credit, he kept fighting and even today he was a little upset coming up 18 but, he was actually the one to win it for us. He had 150 yards in and hit a pitching wedge in to a couple of feet and made the putt. That iced it for us." -- Leon
On Won Jun Lee -- "He led us in Oregon and JC has been telling me all year that these really hard golf courses are built for Junny. He showed up and played like a stud. Junny really understands his golf game and hits it straight. Those two things are a dangerous combination. He's probably one of our shorter hitters but, he hits it straight and keeps it in play. He had another great week for us. Him showing up and doing that is big cause you need that depth going toward the postseason." -- Leon
On the feelings of the win -- "To not have JC here was tough because the whole reason that he is the coach at the University of Florida is because of UNLV, this golf program, the opportunity he had to play for it and coach it with coach Knight. I know how special this tournament was to him and to not have him here was tough. I know how much he wanted to be here with the guys. In terms of the nature of the win, it happened similarly to the one in Dallas. We came out hot and then we stumbled and then really played well the final round. This was similar but, a little bit tighter. Dudley was hanging out on 17th and 18th. The difference here is there is train wrecks all over the place coming in. It wasn't until right at the very end that we knew we were going to win this thing." -- Leon
Final Scores:
Team
Florida Individual
Also competing
Up Next
The Gators are back on the course on March 16-18 when they compete in the Schenkel Invitational. Florida is the defending champion at the event after shooting 18-under in Statesboro, Ga.
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This is the second time this season Florida will be taking home some hardware as it also captured the Trinity Forest in September.
After ending the second round one stroke off the lead, the Gators got a clutch third round from freshman Chris Nido who carded a 4-under final 18. Nido was bogey-free through the first 12 holes and ended the day with a team-best six birdies. He moved up 26 spots in round three to finish tied for 15th on the leaderboard.
Sophomore Andy Zhang also went low on Wednesday. Zhang started the day off by sinking three birdies in the first four holes. He score of 71 (-1) helped him move up 16 positions on the leaderboard to tie for 20th.
For the third straight round, John Axelsen had his round of 72 (E) count for the Gators. He would finish in a tie for 15th at even par for the tournament.
Gordon Neale was Florida's top finisher at the event posting a 2-under par score for the week tying for 7th with three other players.
Individually, freshman Won Jun Lee finished in a four-way tie for 11th with a three round total of 215 (-1).
Coach's Take
On feelings going into final day -- ".I knew that we were right in it after day two. A shot here or there really didn't make a difference. The main thing that we talked about was to come back out and get back to their sharp decision making. If we did that, I didn't know exactly where we would finish up but, at least you leave here happy." -- Assistant Coach Mark Leon
On strategy going into final round -- "Talking to JC, we knew that the pins were going to be difficult and the course was going to have a really difficult set-up. The gameplan was to be really patient, discipline and pick the right targets. The guys really responded. They came out super fast out of the gate and that set the tone for the day." -- Leon
On Chris Nido -- "Chris has been in a lot of ways one of the more valuable players for us this year. It doesn't always show up where he finishes at the end of the week. He comes out of the gate in every tournament really strong. His first round scoring average is amazing. Then he stumbles and then his third round scores are great. His value to the team is incredible because he's usually posting two great scores. And today same thing, he anchored us." -- Leon
On John Axelsen -- "Johnny really played solid golf. He got put on the clock yesterday and may have been in position for a top 5 or even a win but, he had never been in that position before where the whole group had been clocked. To his credit, he kept fighting and even today he was a little upset coming up 18 but, he was actually the one to win it for us. He had 150 yards in and hit a pitching wedge in to a couple of feet and made the putt. That iced it for us." -- Leon
On Won Jun Lee -- "He led us in Oregon and JC has been telling me all year that these really hard golf courses are built for Junny. He showed up and played like a stud. Junny really understands his golf game and hits it straight. Those two things are a dangerous combination. He's probably one of our shorter hitters but, he hits it straight and keeps it in play. He had another great week for us. Him showing up and doing that is big cause you need that depth going toward the postseason." -- Leon
On the feelings of the win -- "To not have JC here was tough because the whole reason that he is the coach at the University of Florida is because of UNLV, this golf program, the opportunity he had to play for it and coach it with coach Knight. I know how special this tournament was to him and to not have him here was tough. I know how much he wanted to be here with the guys. In terms of the nature of the win, it happened similarly to the one in Dallas. We came out hot and then we stumbled and then really played well the final round. This was similar but, a little bit tighter. Dudley was hanging out on 17th and 18th. The difference here is there is train wrecks all over the place coming in. It wasn't until right at the very end that we knew we were going to win this thing." -- Leon
Final Scores:
Team
| 1 | Florida | 859 (-5) |
| T2 | Texas Tech | 863 (-1) |
| T2 | Southern California | 863 (-1) |
| 4 | UNLV | 864 (E) |
| 5 | TCU | 865 (+1) |
| T6 | Oklahoma | 867 (+3) |
| T6 | Pepperdine | 867 (+3) |
| 8 | Illinois | 871 (+7) |
| 9 | Alabama | 873 (+9) |
| 10 | UCLA | 875 (+11) |
| T11 | Washington | 880 (+16) |
| T11 | BYU | 880 (+16) |
| 13 | SMU | 884 (+20) |
| 14 | Northwestern | 890 (+26) |
| 15 | UCF | 900 (+36) |
Florida Individual
| T7 | 215 (-2) | |
| T15 | 217 (E) | |
| Chris Nido | T15 | 217 (E) |
| Andy Zhang | T20 | 219 (+2) |
| T38 | 221 (+5) |
Also competing
| T8 | 142 (-2) |
Up Next
The Gators are back on the course on March 16-18 when they compete in the Schenkel Invitational. Florida is the defending champion at the event after shooting 18-under in Statesboro, Ga.
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
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