The No. 5 Florida Men’s Golf Team won the SunTrust Gator Invitational for the 20th time in the tournament’s 29-year history on Sunday at the University Golf Course. The Gators shot a three round score of 274-288-293  = 855 (+15) for a six-shot win over second-place Tulsa. Sam Korbe of Tulsa defeated Florida senior Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) on a playoff hole to claim the individual medal.

 

Stegmaier entered Sunday’s final round with a healthy five-shot lead over Tulsa’s Nicolas Geyger and appeared to have a solid start to his final round. Stegmaier birdied the par-five No. 3 hole, but then bogeyed thee of the next four holes to make the turn three-over-par. 

 

Meanwhile Korbe, who started the day nine-stroke off the lead, was mounting a charge up the leader board. He finished one-over on the front nine and birdied five of the final nine holes to finish with a 67 (-3).

 

With Korbe already in the clubhouse, Stegmaier had a chance to win the tournament outright with a par on No. 18. He hit his tee-shot far to the right and had to chip the ball back out on the fairway, costing him an extra shot. Stegmaier bogeyed the hole to force a playoff with Korbe.

 

On the first playoff hole, Korbe led-off with a solid 5-wood down the left side of the No. 1 fairway. Stegmaier followed with a similar shot, placing both 40 yards from the green. Stegmaier’s second shot caught the rough, but was close enough to the hole to save par on two putts. Korbe placed his second shot only a few feet from the hole, but was unable to convert the birdie putt.

 

Korbe began the second playoff on the par-three No. 2 hole with a well placed iron shot less than 40-feet from the hole. Stegmaier’s shot landed in a marsh area in front of the hole, leaving a difficult up-and-down chip. With his pants rolled up and one foot in the water, Stegmaier attempted to chip the ball back on the green, but his second shot was not high enough and rolled back into the tall grass. Korbe finished the hole nicely with two putts for the win.

 

“It’s tough because it’s an individual sport and it’s flat all about you,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said about the playoff. “Your opponent doesn’t do anything to take anything away from you or keep you from being successful. It’s particularly disappointing when you have a big lead. I’m sure he (Stegmaier) was feeling comfortable and fairly confident, but Korbe made an incredible run.”

 

The Gators also had a nice round from senior James Vargas (Miami, Fla.), who finished fourth after carded a third round score of 68 (-2). Freshman Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) earned his fourth top-10 finish with scores of 71-71-73 = 215 (+5). Senior Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) tied for 16-place with a three round total of 218 (+8).  Freshman Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) finished his first SunTrust Gator Invitational by carding scores of 72-76-76 = 224 (+14).

 

A trio of Gator individual players also had season-best scores this weekend. Sophomore Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) tied for 23 rd with a three round total of 220 (+10).  Mudd had his lowest score this season and best finish since missing all of last year due to an injury. Sophomore Manuel Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) recorded a season-best score of 222 (+12) and finished tied for 29th.  Senior Ryan Cochran (Paducah, Ky.) carded a third round total of 76 (+6) and finished tied for 67th-place.

 

“If you look at the scoreboard, I think the most important thing this weekend was to persevere,” Alexander said. “This is a tough little golf course. It’s not long (6,701 yards) and doesn’t look very intimidating, but it’s tough.”

 

Florida earned its third team victory this weekend, adding to wins at Inverness and the Gary Koch Invitational during the fall. The Gators will continue the season Feb. 26-28 at the Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan, P.R.

 

Highlights from Sunday’s final round of the SunTrust Gator Invitational can be seen on the Golf Channel’s College Central, which is scheduled to air on Wednesday evening.  Complete results can be found at www.gatorzone.com or at www.golfstat.com.

 

 

 

Team Results

Place	Team	Score	Par
1.	Florida	274-288-293 = 855	+15
2.	Tulsa	287-286-288 = 861	+21
3.	Florida State	291-286-292 = 869	+29
4.	Georgia State	285-293-297 = 875	+35
5.	LSU	297-291-293 = 881	+41
6.	Wake Forest	297-294-296 = 887	+47
7.	UAB	292-298-298 = 888	+48
T8.	South Carolina	287-308-295 = 890	+50
T8.	UCF	302-294-294 = 890	+50
T8.	Purdue	301-294-295 = 890	+50
11.	North Florida	301-298-293 = 892	+52
12.	Georgia Southern	289-311-295 = 895	+55
13.	Ohio State	289-307-303 = 899	+59
14.	Kentucky	301-307-297 = 905	+65

 

Florida Results

Place	Name	Score	Par
2.	Brett Stegmaier	65-79-76 = 210	E
4.	James Vargas	71-73-68 = 212	+2
T6.	Billy Horschel	71-71-73 = 215	+5
T16.	Matt Every	67-75-76 = 218	+8
T34.	Toby Ragland	72-76-76 = 224	+14
T23.	Jessie Mudd	76-72-72= 220	+10
T29.	Manuel Villegas	73-78-71 = 222	+12
T67.	Ryan Cochran	80-76-76 = 232	+22

 

-UF-