Senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) won the SEC Tournament individual medal for the second time in his career on Sunday. Stegmaier topped the field of 60 players at the Seaside Course with a three-round total of 205 (-5). Florida finished second overall to Georgia in the team competition.  

Stegmaier becomes the fifth Gator in school history to win the individual medal multiple times at the SEC Tournament. He joins former Gators Gary Koch, Phil Hancock, Brian Gay and Camilo Benedetti as the only repeat champions for Florida at the SEC Tournament. Stegmaier won the tournament during his freshman year in 2003, which until today stood as his only collegiate win. During his three rounds this weekend, Stegmaier posted scores of 68-70-67 = 205 (-5) on the par-70 course.

“I think it was awesome for Brett to have a little individual satisfaction today,” Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. “He has played well in this tournament four years in a row and for this to be only his second college tournament, it is honestly surprising. Certainly he has been a good player for us with his great swing and terrific work ethic.”

The individual medal was not the only prize at stake this weekend. The Gators entered Sunday’s final round trailing the leader, Georgia, by one stroke. Florida quickly closed the gap and took the lead on the front-nine with strong performances by several players.

Florida’s five players combined for 10 birdies on the front-nine and went into the turn six strokes under-par. Things were looking bright when four of the Gators’ five players birdied the tenth hole, but Georgia slowly began to mount a charge of their own.

The Bulldogs strung together a pair of birdies on the 11th-hole and three more on the 15th-hole to regain a one-stroke lead.  

Seniors James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) and Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) did their part to close the gap with a stellar performances in their final SEC Tournament. Vargas had the best day, carding a 67 (-3), while Every carded a 68 (-2) to finish tied for fifth. Freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) carded a final round score of 67 (-3) to finished tied for seventh-place. Freshman Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) finished tied for 14th with a an even-par 70 during the final round.

“It was tough to take,” Alexander said. “Our kids played their hearts out and played some incredible golf. That was about as good of a shoot-out as I’ve seen in college golf. It was a heck of a fight. Unfortunately they (Georgia) got the best of us.”

Florida definitely saved its best golf for the final two rounds of this weekend’s tournament. The Gator lineup combined to card 10 consecutive rounds at even-or-under par on one of the toughest golf courses in the southeast. 

“We are playing pretty good and getting better all the time,” Alexander said.  “We still have some more golf left to play. We’ll take this as a learning experience.”

Florida will now prepare for the NCAA East Regional on May 18-20 at Lake Nona C.C. in Orlando.

Team Results

Top-10 Individual

Florida Results

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