Sophomore Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in a one-under 69 on Thursday to lead the University of Florida men’s golf team to a 290 (+10) in the second round of the NCAA Championships at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club. The Gators’ total of 586 (+8) has them in a tie for 11th and a just a shot out of the top-10 after 36 holes of play.

“A lot of times, the way your day is going to go can be seen by the way you start, and that’s what happened with us today,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “We got off to a bad start, and it kind of snowballed on us until it got to the point where recovering was flat out difficult.”

Sitting at one stroke over par with four holes to play, Ragland carded birdies on the par-five sixth and par-four eighth to put a red number on the board for UF and finish the day with the Gators’ best round. Beginning his round on the tricky back nine, Ragland played steady golf, making par on seven holes while recording a birdie and a bogey, to make the turn at even for the day. The performance, which will send him into day three with a score of 141 (+1) and a share of 30th place, marked the third time this season that Ragland has equaled or bettered par at Golden Horseshoe, as he posted rounds of 70 and 69, respectively, to close the Preview Invitational in the fall.

“Toby is a mature guy, and he was able to block out what was happening around him and get us a good score,” Alexander said. “Heading into this week, I had a feeling that Toby would play some good golf, and he’s been solid both days so far. He certainly gave us what we needed today.”

After a one-over 71 on Thursday that featured back-to-back birdies on two occasions, junior Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) joined his sophomore teammate in a group knotted at 30th with the same tally of 141 (+1). Villegas made the turn in fine fashion, sinking birdies on 17 and 18 to head to the break at even par. Though a double followed on the first hole, he rebounded with consecutive birdies on five and six to get back to level. A misstep on the eighth hole cost him an even-par round, but he regrouped to cap the day with a par.

Sophomore Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) opened his second round with 10-straight pars before a five-hole stretch on the front sent him to three over for the day. He recorded a double on the second hole, but bounced back with a bogey on the third to get back to one stroke above par. The fourth and fifth holes saw him shoot a double and a bogey, respectively, before rebounding with a birdie and three more pars to enter the clubhouse with a three-over 73. His two-round total of 144 (+4) was good for a 76th-place tie at the conclusion of Thursday’s action. Freshman Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) chipped in with a second-round 77 (+7) to run his total to 143 (+3), and will open Friday’s play in a tie for 58th place, while junior Tyler Brown’s (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) 79 on Thursday sent him to 150 (+10) and a tie for 132nd.

“It’s certainly not over, especially if we get back to the consistent play we showed in the first round,” Alexander said. “It’s going to take two good rounds to get the job done, but I’ve said before that golf is a funny game. Today it snowballed for us in a bad way, but tomorrow it could go the opposite way and we could get right back in the golf tournament.”

Stanford held onto the team lead with a two-under 278 on the day, and will head into the third round with a total of 553 (-7), while Minnesota’s Bronson LaCassie captured the individual lead with a five-under 65 that sent him to 132 (-8) for the tournament. Play will commence at 7 a.m. EST on Friday, and the field will be cut to the top-15 teams and the top-six individuals not on an advancing squad at the conclusion of the round. Scoring will be done live on the Internet at www.golfstat.com, and can also be accessed at www.gatorzone.com.

Team Scores Through Round Two

Individual Top-10 Through Round Two

Florida Results Through Round Two

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