No. 3 Florida recorded a team score of 285 (+5) on the first day of the SEC Golf Tournament at the Sea Side Golf Course on Friday. The Gators find themselves in third-place and nine strokes behind the leader Georgia, who recorded a four-under-par score of 276 on the par-70 course.

Senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) carded a first-round score of 68 (-2) to finish the day in a tie for second. Stegmaier, who won the SEC Tournament during his freshman season in 2002, captured a pair of birdies on the front and back-nine to lead the team.

“He (Stegmaier) has played well all spring, so it wasn't a surprise that he did well today,” Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. “Brett played a smart round of golf today, kept the ball in the fairway and made his putts.”

Senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) also had a strong day shooting an even-par 70 for the round. Every went into the back-nine three-over-par, but birdied three of the final six holes to finish the day tied for ninth. A double bogey on the par-four 16th hole lifted senior James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) to three-over-par for the day. Vargas finished the day with a 73 (+3) and is tied for 31st. Freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) got his first taste of SEC Tournament action and shot a 74 (+4) to finish the day in a tie for 39th. Freshman Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) rounded out the Gator lineup by carding a 76 (+6), which was good for a share of 48th-place     

“We didn't see the typical Sea Side Course, because the wind didn't blow as hard as it usually does and the greens were a bit softer,” Alexander said. “Basically we didn't take advantage of it. I’ve said all week long that somebody is going to play well in this tournament and today it wasn't us. We have to cash in on our birdie opportunities tomorrow.”

Georgia’s Brian Harman leads the field of 60 players after recording a 67 (-2) on the first day. The tournament will resume on Saturday with tee-times beginning at 8 a.m. Fans can follow the action live on www.golfstat.com.  

Team Results

Top-10 Individuals

Florida Results