Freshman Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) fired an even-par 72 in the first round of the Unites States Collegiate Championship, and the seventh-ranked University of Florida men’s golf team shot 305 (+17) as a team on a blustery Monday at the Golf Club of Georgia. The Gators will head into the second-round owning a share of 11th place, just 13 strokes off the lead.

“We were in decent shape for a good part of the round, but we ran into a rough patch towards the end,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “We have some high scores on the board, but so does everyone else because the weather is not on our side right now. It’ll take a great round to get back in the mix, but we have guys that are capable of doing that.”

McKenney, one of just a dozen players in a field of 78 to shoot par or better on Monday, carded his first collegiate eagle on the par-five first hole and then birdied the par-four fourth to jump out to the individual lead before making the turn. He turned in 10-consecutive pars before bogeys on 15, 17 and 18 brought him back to even. McKenney’s first-round 72 was his fifth round at par or better this season, and positioned him in a tie for seventh, just two shots behind the leaders, heading into Tuesday’s round.

“It was great to see Tim play so well,” Alexander said. “He really putted well today, and he saved himself a few times with some long ones. Tim played smart golf and stayed away from big numbers, which is something he has shown an ability to do this year.”

Birdies on nine and 12 were the highlights of the day for sophomore Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.), who recorded a first-round 75 (+3) and finished the day in a tie for 28th. The Gators’ third-best score of the day came from junior Tyler Brown (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), who posted a five-over 77 to tie for 45th. Brown played his best golf of the afternoon in the middle of the round, rolling in back-to-back birdies on eight and nine. Junior Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) also recorded a pair of first-round birdies on his way to an opening 81 (+9), while sophomore Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) entered the clubhouse with an 11-over 83 on his card.

“We need to do a better job of covering for each other when someone is having a bad day,” Alexander said. “If we do that, there’s no reason why we won’t improve. We get a little earlier of a start tomorrow, which is good because the guys are anxious to get back out there after not playing their best today as a whole.”

Competition will resume at the Golf Club of Georgia at 9 a.m. EST on Tuesday. Georgia Tech and Clemson share the 18-hole lead at 292 (+4), while the Tigers’ Tanner Ervin and Georgia’s Chris Kirk jumped out to the individual lead with two-under scores 70 on Monday. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com, and can be accessed via www.gatorzone.com.

Team Scores Through Round One

Individual Top-10 Through Round Two

Florida Results Through Round One

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