The University of Florida Men’s Golf team recorded a team score of 575 (-1) during the first day of competition at the United States Collegiate Championship at the Golf Club of Georgia on Monday. The Gators were led by senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) who carded a two-round total of 140 (-4) to finish the day tied for second.

Every used an opening round score of 68 (-4) to jump into the lead early on in the day. He then followed up in the second round by carding four birdies, however, a double-bogey on no. 15 and a bogey on no. 18 evened his score for the afternoon. Every remained tied for second-place and in contention for his second individual medal of the season.

“Having a couple of weeks off helped us out a little bit,” Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. “I think we were rested and ready to play. In golf, you’re always working to improve, so that is what Matt has done this semester. Today he hit the ball really well and he’s doing fine.”

Senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) kept the Gators on top of the leader-board by carding a second-round total of 67 (-4). Stegmaier had six birdies during his afternoon round to offset a first-round performance of 74 (+2) and put himself into the hunt for the individual medal. He recorded a total score of 141 (-3), which was good tie for fourth.

The middle of the Gator lineup kept the momentum going with several strong performances on Monday. Freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) continued his consistent play with scores of 73-72 = 145 (+1). Horschel will enter Tuesday’s final round tied for 15th-place. Senior James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) carded an even-par 72 in the first round then recorded a 77 in the afternoon for a total score of 149 (+5). Freshman Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) carded scores of 76-78 = 154 (+10), while sophomore Manuel Villegas recorded scores of 76-81 = 157 (+13) while playing as an individual.

Clemson used a late charge to overtake the Gators’ lead during the second round and finished the day with scores of 291-283 = 574 (-2). Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson leads the field of 69 players with scores of 68-67 = 135 (-9).

The United States Collegiate Championship will conclude on Tuesday with the final round at 8 a.m. Fans can follow the action live at www.golfstat.com. Complete results can be found at www.gatorzone.com following the tournament.

Team Scores

Florida Results