ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. --Â After ending Day One in a tie for 12th, the Gators surged up the leaderboard over the final 36 holes to finish tied for second at the Southeastern Conference Championship.
A big part of the late surge from the Gators came from sophomoreÂ
Andy Zhang, who birdied four out of five holes from No. 11 to No. 15 to claim the individual title.
Zhang parred his way in and was one off the lead when he finished his round at 5-under. After two bogies from then-leader Cecil Wegener of Ole Miss on No. 16 and No. 17, the two tied and headed to a playoff.
Zhang and Wegener parred the first two playoff holes on No. 18 and then headed back to No. 17.
Zhang, whose tee shot left him off the back, put his first putt within five feet. Wegener left his first putt just outside of Zhang's. Wegener''s second putt lipped out.
Zhang wouldn't miss and claimed the Gators' second consecutive individual title and 24th in program history.
With the help of the individual champion, the Gators improved by six spots on the leaderboard Friday.
By hole No. 8, the Gators were 6-under-par and in fourth place. They continued to surge coming into the clubhouse as they finished 8-under in the final round. It was the best round of the week by any team as every player in the starting five was even par or better.
As the final scores came in, Florida found itself in a tie for second with Vanderbilt. The Gators held the tiebreaker and head into the match play quarterfinal as the No. 2 seed. They will face Ole Miss, who finished in a tie for seventh with Texas A&M at 11-over
Florida tees off its quarterfinal round at 8:20 a.m. Saturday, with
John Axelsen the first to tee it up.
Coach's Take
On Andy Zhang becoming the 22nd Gator to win the SEC Individual title -- "It says a lot. I'm really proud of that. You can't win at this level without doing a lot of things right and it is reaffirmation that we are doing things the right way. These guys are working at the right things. You can't win in this conference if you aren't elite. Alejandro and Andy have shown that the last two years." -- Coach
J.C. Deacon
On playing well in the final round and challenging his guys -- "I really challenged the guys a couple of nights ago. All of the good players that I have met in my life and have studied when they have a bad round they find a way to come back in the tournament. We have a bunch of good player but, they had to go out there and prove it. I challenged them with their backs up against the wall and I we answered those questions pretty well. The scary thing is the tournament is only halfway over so, we have to get our rest and hydration in. Lots of golf to go and a really exciting day to play well when you need it the most. That was the definition of clutch." -- Deacon
On finishing second -- "It's hard to believe but, with this team nothing surprises me. We're capable of so much. I have said it all year. I know how good we can be and they are starting to see it. They are starting to reach some of that potential but, we still have to go out there and do it this weekend mono e mono in match play. It is going to be really exciting and that's why they come to the University of Florida to get into positions like this. It is going to be a neat couple of days." -- Deacon
On other teams seeing Florida put up a low number -- "Everyone is going to take notice. That was a big time round today. The conditions and the pressure was as high as we had all year and we came out and shot our best round of the year. 8-under in those conditions and circumstances is outstanding. We just have to commend our guys, even Chris. His score didn't count today but, he shot 70. Everyone of them stepped up but, like I said we have to get back to work." -- Deacon
Final Scores:
Team
| 1 |
LSU |
834 (-6) |
| T2 |
Florida |
843 (+3) |
| T2 |
Vanderbilt |
843 (+3) |
| T4 |
Auburn |
848 (+8) |
| T4 |
Arkansas |
848 (+8) |
| T4 |
Alabama |
848 (+8) |
| T7 |
Ole Miss |
851 (+11) |
| T7 |
Texas A&M |
851 (+11) |
| 9 |
Tennessee |
854 (+14) |
| 10 |
Kentucky |
856 (+16) |
| 11 |
Georgia |
862 (+22) |
| 12 |
Mississippi State |
864 (+24) |
| 13 |
South Carolina |
865 (+25) |
| 14 |
Missouri |
873 (+33) |
Florida Individual
Match-ups:
Quarterfinals – Saturday 8:20 a.m. (ET)
Follow the Action
Stroke play concluded on Friday. Live scoring is available onÂ
GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on
FloridaGators.com following each day's play.
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