The University of Florida men’s golf team had a disappointing first round on Tuesday at the 2009 NCAA Championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The Gators shot 26-over par 310 and are tied for 29th place.

After a promising start the Gators were in first place at four-under par, but all five players struggled down the stretch and they dropped down the leader board. Oklahoma State and Georgia lead the field at four-over par 288 after the first round.

“This was obviously a poor day for us,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “We’ve had some ups and downs this year and gotten off to some poor starts, but nothing quite like this. This is about as low as it gets.”

Senior Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) had the low round for the Gators, shooting five-over 76. Junior Tyson Alexander (Gainesville, Fla.) finished at six-over par 77 for the day.

Seniors Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.) rounded out the scoring, shooting 78 (+7) and 79 (+8), respectively. Junior Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was the final Gator golfer, carding nine-over par 80 on Tuesday.

“I’ve never been so shocked with a performance as I was today,” said Coach Alexander. “I was absolutely certain that we were ready to play and that we would play with a lot of confidence, and that just didn’t happen. We’ve got a little time left and hopefully we can do a whole lot better tomorrow.”

Northwestern’s Jonathan Bowers, Scott Langley of Illinois and N.C. State’s Matt Hill are tied atop the individual leader board at two-under par 69.

The top eight teams after three rounds of stroke play advance to match play. The individual champion will be crowned after the stroke play portion of the tournament.

Florida will look to get back on the right track on Wednesday. They will tee off at 7 a.m. eastern time. Live hole-by-hole scoring is available online at www.golfstat.com. At the conclusion of the day’s action, results will be posted online at www.gatorzone.com.

Team Results

T1. Oklahoma State, 288 (+4)

T1. Georgia, 288 (+4)

3. Chattanooga, 292 (+8)

T4. Washington, 293 (+9)

T4. San Diego, 293 (+9)

T6. Arizona State, 294 (+10)

T6. Ohio State, 294 (+10)

T6. Tennessee, 294 (+10)

9. Michigan, 296 (+12)

T10. Arkansas, 297 (+13)

T10. Duke, 297 (+13)

T12. Texas A&M, 298 (+14)

T12. Northwestern, 298 (+14)

T12. Alabama, 298 (+14)

T15. Illinois, 299 (+15)

T15. TCU, 299 (+15)

17. UCF, 300 (+16)

T18. Georgia Tech, 301 (+17)

T18. Iowa, 301 (+17)

20. Wake Forest, 302 (+18)

21. Texas Tech, 303 (+19)

T22. Southern California, 305 (+21)

T22. Stanford, 305 (+21)

T24. Oregon, 306 (+22)

T24. Virginia, 306 (+22)

T24. UCLA, 306 (+22)

T24. South Carolina, 306 (+22)

28. Texas, 308 (+24)

T29. Florida, 310 (+26)

T29. Arizona, 310 (+26)

Individual Top-10

T1. Jonathan Bowers, Northwestern, 69 (-2)

T1. Scott Langley, Illinois, 69 (-2)

T1. Matt Hill, N.C. State, 69 (-2)

T4. Alex Ching, San Diego, 70 (-1)

T4. Tom Hoge, TCU, 70 (-1)

T4. Phillip Francis, UCLA, 70 (-1)

T4. David Holmes, Tennessee, 70 (-1)

T4. Nick Taylor, Washington, 70 (-1)

T9. Simon Ward, UCF, 71 (E)

T9. Fredrik Qvicker, Chattanooga, 71 (E)

T9. Corey Nagy, Charlotte, 71 (E)

T9. Russell Henley, Georgia, 71 (E)

T9. Trent Leon, Oklahoma State, 71 (E)

T9. Jamie Marshall, Arkansas, 71 (E)

T9. Brian Harman, Georgia, 71 (E)

UF Results

T75. Billy Horschel, 76 (+5)

T93. Tyson Alexander, 77 (+6)

T117. Toby Ragland, 78 (+7)

T127. Will Strickler, 79 (+8)

T139. Tim McKenney, 80 (+9)

-UF-