Freshman Eugene Hong shot a 3-under-par 67 in Sunday's final round of the Gators Invitational to help UF move from fifth to start the day to a runner-up finish. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Hong a Rising Star for Gators
Sunday, February 17, 2019 | Men's Golf, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The trophy presentation was over Sunday afternoon and for the second consecutive year, the Gators finished runner-up to Vanderbilt in the Gator Invitational.
They closed the gap this time, but in the end, fell by a stroke on a day that included a morning surge toward the top of the leaderboard and an afternoon rollercoaster that prevented them from claiming their first Gator Invitational since 2011.
As everyone started to drift away from Mark Bostick Golf Course, UF freshman Eugene Hong tidied his golf bag to cap a day in which he shot a 3-under 67 for the tournament's low round Sunday. When he locked eyes with Gators head coach J.C. Deacon, Hong assured Deacon that Florida's dry spell in its only home tournament of the season is going to end.
"We'll get one of these,'' he said.
"We're so close,'' Deacon replied.
Hong was a huge reason why, dropping birdies on the final two holes to keep the pressure on Vanderbilt. The Commodores had their own rollercoaster ride on the back nine but were able to hold on in large part due to individual champion Will Gordon, who sandwiched a pair of 70s in the first and third rounds with a 7-under 63 in the second round. Gordon wasn't at his best Sunday, but after bogeys on the 11th and 13th, he steadied himself to reel off five consecutive pars down the stretch.
Despite coming up short, Deacon voiced an optimistic tone afterward considering that Florida was six shots better than Vanderbilt in the final round and got to 9-under at one point in the round to finish 282-282-276—840 (even par) for the tournament.
"We had it in the palm of our hand,'' Deacon said. "They'll figure out ways. We're getting better and I'm excited about that, but losing by one sucks. We would have loved to win this tournament."
An elite junior golfer from Circle Christian High in the Orlando area, Hong has emerged as a key building block for a program that has lost Sam Horsfield and Andy Zhang early to the professional ranks the past two seasons.
Hong was named USA Today High School Player of the Year as a prep junior and won team and individual state championships prior to arriving at UF in the fall.
He is starting to find his game at the collegiate level after some rough patches.
Freshman Eugene Hong fired a low-round 67 on Sunday at the Gator Invitational. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)
"He was the best player in the world for his age two and a half years ago. So it's in him. He knows what it takes to be the best,'' Deacon said. "He's already been to the top of that mountain. It's just getting him comfortable and believing in himself again and getting that self-talk back to where it should be. I think he's starting to see little things. Every time the moment is big – every time – he does something like that. He's a gamer, the definition of a gamer."
In his first Gator Invitational, Hong started slow in Saturday morning's first round, finishing with a 4-over 74. He improved by five strokes in the second round and was at his best on Sunday.
With the tournament on the line, Hong rolled in a birdie from 30 feet on the 17th and closed with beautiful approach shot on the difficult 18th that allowed him to sink a birdie putt inside 10 feet.
Deacon said when Hong is at work on the course, he and assistant Mark Leon tend to stay away and let his talent take over.
"Eugene's got some genius in him that I don't ever want to get in the way of and I know Mark doesn't ever want to get in the way of, so when the moments get really big, we just kind of let him go do his thing because he's got something in him that he can elevate his game to a whole nother level when it matters most,'' Deacon said.
In his fifth season, Deacon made Hong a priority on the recruiting trail as soon as he took over the program. Hong has extensive experience at major tournaments around the country as a junior golfer and gained a lot of exposure as one of the state's top prep golfers.
He is just getting started at UF, which has Deacon smiling wide.
"I've got a feeling he's going to win something big for us one day,'' Deacon said. "He was actually one of the first guys I ever looked at when I got this job. He was just so dominant."
Halfway into his freshman season, Hong showed everyone Sunday what Deacon has seen for years.
