Junior Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) fired a final-round 74 to earn a share of 10th place, and the No. 9 University of Florida men’s golf team improved two spots to finish eighth at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship here Sunday.

The Gators posted a 54-hole total of 894 (+30) and closed with a 12-over 300 on Sunday. Florida entered the day in 10th place. Host UNLV maintained a two-shot lead down the stretch and earned its seventh Southern Highlands tournament victory in the last 14 years.

The Rebels tallied a final-round 5-over 293 for a 54-hole total of 869 that bested No. 3 Charlotte (871) by two shots. No. 1 Georgia finished third at 8-over 872, and No. 7 Southern Cal was fourth at 14-over 878.

“I know this is a pretty hard golf course, but it was kind of a disappointing week,” UF head coach Buddy Alexander said. “We finished in the middle of the field, very similar to what we did at the Preview (Invitational) in the fall. We just have to keep working hard, and hopefully some of our kids will grow up a bit and come through for us.”

Three players shared individual medalist honors. Charlotte’s Jonas Enander Hedin, Southern Cal’s Rory Hie and Georgia’s Hudson Swafford all finished at 3-under 213.

Horschel closed with a 2-over round that left him at 1-over 217 overall for the tournament with UNLV’s Seung-su Han. The top-10 placing was the 19th of Horschel’s career, which represents the sixth-most top-10 finishes in school history.

Horschel took pars on the first seven holes, bogeyed the par-3 eighth and posted a 37 on the front nine. He dropped a pair of shots on two of his next three holes but answered with back-to-back birdies on the par-5 13th and the par-4 14th. The junior played his final four holes at even par to maintain his top-10 score.

Senior Tyler Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) had the low UF round of the day with a 1-over 73. Brown finished at 9-over 225 overall for 31st place in just his second start of the season. He rolled in four birdies on the day but took a pair of double bogeys at the par-5 ninth and the par-4 15th.

Fellow senior Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) ended the tournament in a tie for 24th after carding a 4-over 76 on Sunday. Villegas, who finished at 7-over 223 overall, played his front nine at 1-over but played the back nine at 3-over with bogeys on holes 10, 12, 13, and 17.

Junior Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) finished tied for 53rd at 13-over 229, and junior Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.) took 68th at 22-over 238. Ragland and Strickler shot final rounds of 77 (+5) and 79 (+7), respectively.

Florida leaves Wednesday for Statesboro, Ga., to compete at the Chris Schenkel Invitational, March 14-16.

“We have a tough decision to make on the lineup,” Alexander said. “We will watch some guys hit some balls on Tuesday and make the call.”

Final Team Scores

Final Individual Top 10

Final Florida Results