Monday, May 14
Kissimmee, FL
ALL DAY
Florida Gators
vs
NCAA Regional Championship
John Axelsen (-3) is one of three Gators inside of top 10 on the leaderboard after day one of the NCAA Regional in Kissimmee, Fla. (Steve Colquitt/SEC Communications)
Gators tied for lead after round one of NCAA Regionals
Monday, May 14, 2018 | Men's Golf
Florida with four players under par and three inside of top 10 on leaderboard
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- On a wet first day of the NCAA Regionals, the top four in the Gators lineup combined to record just four bogeys.
Florida carded a season-best 12-under-par and are tied for the lead with host UCF. Both schools are seven shots above the cut line as the top five teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla.
The Gator top three of Gordon Neale, Andy Zhang and John Axelsen all sit inside of the top 10 of the leaderboard while Chris Nido is tied for 21th.
Zhang, who at one point lived on the Watson Course, was bogey-free Monday carding all four of his birdies on the back nine. Neale and Zhang are both one shot off the individual lead at four-under while Axelsen (-3) is two off the lead.
After being on the course for a little over an hour, play was suspended due to heavy rain in the Kissimmee area. The delay did not seem to faze the Gators who led for nearly the entire first round and were nine-under-par after play resumed.
This is the fourth time this season the Florida has led after 18 holes of play including the Trinity Forest and Southern Highlands, both tournament the Gators won.
Florida will be paired with UCF (-12) and Kent State (-8) in round two tomorrow. The first tee time is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. (ET) as Alejandro Tosti will be the first Gator player out on the course.
Coach's Take
On today's first round:
"Obviously, a very nice start for the Gators today. It was fun watching our guys prepare for and enjoy some tough conditions," -- Coach J.C. Deacon
On handling adversity:
"That's the big difference I'm starting to see with this team, adversity just isn't that big of a deal anymore. We have a long way to go, but today was a great foundation to build on. I'm excited to see us play even better," -- Coach J.C. Deacon
Scores After Round One:
Team:
Florida Individual
Follow the Action
Play will continue on Tuesday, May 15th. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following each day's play.
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Florida carded a season-best 12-under-par and are tied for the lead with host UCF. Both schools are seven shots above the cut line as the top five teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla.
The Gator top three of Gordon Neale, Andy Zhang and John Axelsen all sit inside of the top 10 of the leaderboard while Chris Nido is tied for 21th.
Zhang, who at one point lived on the Watson Course, was bogey-free Monday carding all four of his birdies on the back nine. Neale and Zhang are both one shot off the individual lead at four-under while Axelsen (-3) is two off the lead.
After being on the course for a little over an hour, play was suspended due to heavy rain in the Kissimmee area. The delay did not seem to faze the Gators who led for nearly the entire first round and were nine-under-par after play resumed.
This is the fourth time this season the Florida has led after 18 holes of play including the Trinity Forest and Southern Highlands, both tournament the Gators won.
Florida will be paired with UCF (-12) and Kent State (-8) in round two tomorrow. The first tee time is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. (ET) as Alejandro Tosti will be the first Gator player out on the course.
Coach's Take
On today's first round:
"Obviously, a very nice start for the Gators today. It was fun watching our guys prepare for and enjoy some tough conditions," -- Coach J.C. Deacon
On handling adversity:
"That's the big difference I'm starting to see with this team, adversity just isn't that big of a deal anymore. We have a long way to go, but today was a great foundation to build on. I'm excited to see us play even better," -- Coach J.C. Deacon
Scores After Round One:
Team:
| T1 | Florida | 276 (-12) |
| T1 | UCF | 276 (-12) |
| 3 | Kent State | 280 (-8) |
| 4 | South Florida | 282 (-6) |
| T5 | North Carolina | 283 (-5) |
| T5 | Vanderbilt | 283 (-5) |
| 7 | Arizona | 284 (-4) |
| 8 | Jacksonville State | 286 (-2) |
| T9 | Purdue | 288 (E) |
| T9 | Colorado State | 288 (E) |
| 11 | St. Mary's (CA) | 289 (+1) |
| 12 | Coastal Carolina | 290 (+2) |
| 13 | Georgetown | 297 (+9) |
| 14 | Central Connecticut | 303 (+15) |
Florida Individual
| T5 | 68 (-4) | |
| Gordon Neale | T5 | 68 (-4) |
| John Axelsen | T9 | 69 (-3) |
| Chris Nido | T21 | 71 (-1) |
| Alejandro Tosti | T47 | 74 (+2) |
Tee Times:
Tuesday Rd. 2 – 7:30 a.m. (ET)
| Player | Hole | Time (ET) |
| 1 | 7:30 a.m. | |
| 1 | 7:41 a.m. | |
| 1 | 7:52 a.m. | |
| 1 | 8:03 a.m. | |
| 1 | 8:14 a.m. |
Follow the Action
Play will continue on Tuesday, May 15th. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FloridaGators.com following each day's play.
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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