Wake Forest University
Florida Gator Invitational
Deacons, Simpson Finish Third At SunTrust Gator Invitational
2/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 11, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- No. 1-ranked Florida, playing on its home course, ran away from the pack on the final 18 holes to hold off Florida State and Wake Forest for the SunTrust Gator Invitational crown here Sunday.
No. 23-ranked Wake Forest, which entered the final round with a one-stroke lead, shot a 14-over 294 in the final round. All 14 teams in the field shot over-par on the final 18 holes.
Florida, 10-over for the 54-hole tournament, finished 11 strokes ahead of cross-state rival Florida State (+21). Wake Forest (+22) finished third, followed by Coastal Carolina (+24) and Georgia Southern (+26).
Wake Forest junior Webb Simpson shot a final round 71 on the par 70, 6,701-yard University of Florida Golf Course to finish third in the individual race. Florida's Manuel Villegas, the only player to shoot under par for the tournament, finished 6-under par, six strokes in front of Georgia Southern's Bryan Jones. Three Florida Gators finished in the top six.
Freshman Brendan Gielow, who shot a 5-over 75 today, finished tied for 12th at 4-over par for the tournament. Junior Chris McCartin also shot a 75 today, finished 7-over for the tournament, and tied for 22nd place. Sophomore Dustin Groves shot a solid 2-over 73 Sunday to finish 10-over and tied for 36th place.
Sophomore Marc Gladson, playing as an individual, ballooned to a 10-over 80 Sunday to finish tied for 44th at 12-over. Senior Sean Moore closed the tournament with a 75 to finish with a 54-hole total of 225 (+15) to tie for 52nd place.
The 14-team field included six of the nation's top 26 ranked teams.
The Deacons are off for nearly a month, until the Southern Highlands Intercollegiate in Las Vegas, March 9-11.
Team Standings
Florida 280 289 281 850 +10
Florida State 284 287 290 861 +21
Wake Forest 280 288 294 862 +22
Coastal Carolina 290 284 290 864 +24
Georgia Southern 286 284 295 866 +26
UAB 287 289 293 869 +29
Tulsa 290 290 287 871 +31
Georgia State 292 286 293 871 +31
North Florida 293 292 287 872 +32
Kentucky 295 293 293 881 +41
Ohio State 283 300 299 882 +42
LSU 296 295 293 884 +44
UCF 297 297 293 887 +47
Purdue 299 303 304 906 +66
Individual Standings
Manuel Villegas, Florida 67 68 69 204 -6
Bryan Jones, Georgia Southern 70 68 71 210 E
Webb Simpson, Wake Forest 70 70 71 211 +1
Tyler Brown, Florida 69 71 72 212 +2
Matthew Savage, Florida State 72 75 65 212 +2
Will Strickler, Florida 68 72 72 212 +2
Wake Forest Individuals
3- Webb Simpson 70 70 71 211 +1
t12 - Brendan Gielow 71 68 75 214 +4
t22- Chris McCartin 68 74 75 217 +7
t36- Dustin Groves 71 76 73 220 +10
x t44- Marc Gladson 74 68 80 222 +12
t52- Sean Moore 71 79 75 225 +15
x-playing as individual
Players Mentioned
