Florida Gators
Las Vegas Invitational
Men's Golf Shoots High Numbers in Las Vegas
Monday, March 11, 2002 | Men's Golf
After carding a 7-over score in round three, the No. 4 University of Florida men's golf team finshed tied for sixth place at the Callaway Golf Las Vegas Collegiate hosted by UNLV at the Southern Highlands Golf Club. While the team did fall out of the top five, one Gator did claim co-medalist honors.
Sophomore Camilo Villegas (Mendellin, Colombia) claimed his third title of the season, splitting the top spot Sunday with Troy Matteson, Georgia Tech. Villegas scored 1-under par, shooting 71 to tally a three-round 208 total. Villegas is currently the third-ranked golfer in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.
"I gave him [Matteson] some shots and he gave me some shots in the end," said Villegas. "I could have closed it out, but didn't. Sometimes that's the way it goes."
The No. 1 Geogia Tech Yellowjackets won their third straight tournament since the spring season started, with a 20-under 844. Host UNLV took second carding 863 while North Carolina State finished third at 865.
Villegas was the only Florida golfer to finish in the top-20. The nearest scoring Gator was junior Dalton Melnyk (Jacksonville, Fla.) tied for 36th after finishing strong with a 1-over 73 for a 221 total. Senior Camilo Benedetti (Mendellin, Colombia) took 42nd with 223.
"It was a poor day for us today," head coach Buddy Alexander said. "I am disappointed in our play this weekend. We have been struggling these last couple of tournaments and we need to find a way out of this slump."
The Las Vegas Collegiate features 10 teams ranked in the latest GCAA/Precept Coaches Poll, including four of the top five. Defending champ Georgia Tech, the nation's top-ranked squad, headlines the returning clubs. UNLV hosts: Alabama, Air Force, Arizona, Arizona State, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kent State, New Mexico, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and TCU. Additionally, individual players from Arizona State, New Mexico and UNLV will compete unattached
Florida will return to action after a week off at the Chris Schenkel Invitational hosted at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga. by Geogia Southern. UF finished fifth of the 15-team field last year with Georgia winning the crown with 10-under 854.
Las Vegas Collegiate
Final results
March 8-10
Southern Highlands Golf Course
1 Georgia Tech -20 F -7 287 276 281 844
2 UNLV -1 F +3 288 284 291 863
3 North Carolina State +1 F -7 291 293 281 865
4 Clemson University +3 F -5 293 291 283 867
5 Georgia, U. of +8 F +14 288 282 302 872
T6 Florida, U. of +11 F +7 288 292 295 875
T6 TCU +11 F E 293 294 288 875
T8 Arizona, U. of +13 F +3 293 293 291 877
T8 Houston, Univ. of +13 F +4 296 289 292 877
10 Ohio State Univ. +28 F +11 299 294 299 892
11 Oklahoma State U. +30 F +9 300 297 297 894
12 Arizona State U. +31 F +12 304 291 300 895
13 New Mexico, U. of +32 F +12 291 305 300 896
14 Alabama, U. of +42 F +19 308 291 307 906
15 Air Force +53 F +12 315 302 300 917
16 Kent State +70 F +22 319 305 310 934
Florida Finishes
T1 Camilo Villegas 68 69 71 208
T36 Dalton Melnyk 72 76 73 221
42 Camilo Benedetti 72 75 76 223
T43 Ari Savolainen 77 72 75 224
T69 Jordan Code 76 77 80 233
