The University of Florida men’s golf team used the lowest score of the day, a 12-under 276, to move nine spots up the leaderboard and claim third place after the second round of the Carpet Capital Collegiate with a team score of 569 (-7). The Gators played the back nine at The Farm first on Saturday, while the front nine served as UF’s back half.

The 12-under showing was the 17th round in school history in which the Gators have been a dozen or more strokes under par, and also ties for the low round of the tournament to this point.

“I was wondering if we had the horsepower to put together that kind of a round, and it turns out that we do,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “I’m proud of the way our guys played today. We got a bunch of birdies early and were able to get rolling, which led to a good round.”

Sophomore Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) carded a flawless second round, playing bogey-free golf and rolling in five birdies for his fourth-career round of 67. Four of his birdies came on the course’s back nine (the front nine of Horschel’s round) and he finished the round on a high note with a birdie in the par-five fourth hole. He is tied for fourth place at six-under for the tournament after his five-under performance on Saturday.

Junior Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) continued his strong early-season play with a three-under round of 69, putting him at two-under and a tie for 16th through two rounds. Villegas recorded five birdies on the day, including three in a six-hole stretch during the first half of his round. The second-round 69 is the second-lowest 18-hole score in Villegas’ career, just one stroke off of his 68 in the final round of the Inverness Invitational.

Sophomore Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in his second under-par round in as many days on Saturday, firing a two-under 70. He got off to a quick start on the back nine (his front nine) with five birdies and three bogeys, and made the turn a two-under on the day. Ragland would make that score stick in the second half of his round, playing par golf except for a birdie on seven and a bogey on eight. He is currently tied for 10th with a score of 141 (-3).

Junior Tyler Brown (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) posted his first round at par or better as a Gator on Saturday, heading into the clubhouse at two-under (70) for the round and four-over for the tournament. Sophomore Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.) played a career-low round of 73 (+1) on the tournament’s second day, rolling in four birdies.

“The big pluses for us today were Manny and Toby coming through with under-par rounds,” Alexander said. “We know we’re going to get some good rounds from Billy, so we count on other guys to step up. Tyler Brown also looked more comfortable on the golf course today, and it showed in his score.”

The field will play the final 18 holes, beginning on at 8 a.m., on Sunday. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.

Team Scores Through Round Two

Individual Top-10 Through Round Two

Florida Results Through Round Two

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