After two rounds of the 2006 SunTrust Gator Invitational, the No. 5 University of Florida Men’s Golf team leads the 14-team field with a score of 274-288 = 562 (+2). Under warm sunny skies at the University Golf Course, Florida senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) shot back-to-back rounds under-par to lead with a score of 134 (-6).

Stegmaier got off to a solid start by shooting a first round score of 65. He began the day by recording birdies on the first two holes and stayed at two-under-par until the seventh hole, where he placed a 40-foot bunker shot inches from the hole to make birdie. Stegmaier capped off his round by recording an eagle on No. 17.

During the second round, Stegmaier recovered from a rough start by recording birdies on the final three holes to finish his round at 69.

“He’s a northeastern guy and this golf course has an old traditional style about it,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said of Stegmaier. “It’s an old Donald Ross course and he grew up there where they probably have a lot of them. That is probably why he likes this style.”

Tulsa’s Nicolas Geyger fired a two-round total of 139 (-1) and helped his team to a second place performance for the day. Tulsa is 11 shots behind the Gators heading into the final round with a team score of 287-286 = 573 (+13)

Gator senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) had a strong day shooting a first round score of 69 and finished the afternoon with a 75 on the second round. Every is currently tied for sixth with teammate freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) who carded a score of 71-71 = 142 (+2).

“It was nice to see our seniors come up with a very big round,” Alexander said. “Maybe it’s to be expected; they’ve played the Gator Invitational before and they know what to expect. They went out and did a nice job.”

Senior James Vargas (Miami, Fla.) carded a score of 71-73 = 144 (+4) and is tied for 15th-place going into the final round. Freshman Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) also finished in the top-30 with a score of 72-76 = 148 (+6).

The Gators had three individual players that saw action on Saturday. Sophomore Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) led the trio by carding a season-best two round total of 76-72 = 148 (+6). Sophomore Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) tied for 39th with a score of 73-78 = 151 (+11), while senior Ryan Cochran (Paducah, Ky.) rounded out the Gator lineup with an 80-76 – 156 (+16).

Defending champion Jonas Blixt of Florida State withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury.

The Gators will attempt to win their 20th SunTrust Gator Invitational title on Sunday morning during the final round. The Gators will tee-off starting at 9:30 a.m. with Tulsa and Florida State.  The tournament officially begins at 8 a.m. at the University Golf Course.

Admission to the tournament is free. Due to multiple events on Sunday morning, parking is limited on a first come, first server basis. Complete results can be found at www.gatorzone.com.

Team Results

Florida Results