University of North Florida
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Alabama outlasts everyone,
UNF tied for 6th at Sawgrass
2/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 18, 2007
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Year in and year out there are a couple of constants at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational. Fans can expect to see some of the best collegiate golf teams in the nation every year and they can also expect those teams to battle everything Mother Nature can throw at them.
Nothing changed during Sunday's opening round of the event at Sawgrass Country Club. Players battled high winds and temperatures that hung in the 40s most of the day.
Another trend at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational the last few years has been the University of Alabama near the top of the leaderboard. That trend has held as well, as Alabama leads after one round of play, shooting a 303 to sit a shot ahead of Vanderbilt heading into Monday's second round. Host UNF is six shots off the pace and tied with UCLA and Coastal Carolina in sixth place.
UCLA'a Kevin Chappell and Pepperdine's Shane Mason are tied for the individual lead at even par.
Michael Giammaresi led the Ospreys with a 3-over- par 75 and is tied with a group of 11 players in fifth place. That group also includes UNF's Jordan Gibb who is playing as an individual, and did not make a bogey on his front nine.
"I played well and my experience playing in the wind and playing on links courses paid off today," said Gibb, a native of Kent, England.
The Ospreys charged hard down the stretch, overcoming a dismal start that had the team in last place when it made the turn. UNF played the back nine at 3-over par, finishing the final three holes a combined 4-under par, highlighted by a Giammaresi eagle on the par 5 eighth hole, his 17th of the day.
"The team did a good job of not giving up today," UNF head coach Scott Schroeder said. "The way we played over the last three holes kept us in it. You're not going to win a tournament on a day like this, but you can shoot yourself out of it."
Jeff Dennis followed Giammaresi with a 76, while J.C. Horne shot 77 and Michael O'Neal 81. Gavin Cambre completed the scoring for UNF with an 82.
Chappell continued the theme of strong finishes for UCLA, birdying four of the last five holes. His iron play was locked in down the stretch, as none of his approach shots to the green were further than 12 feet from the pin. Included in that stretch of four birdies were putts of two feet and six feet.
Alabama got into the clubhouse early and found itself on top of the leaderboard by the time play finished up. The Crimson Tide has three players - Gator Todd, Mark Harrell and Matthew Swan - in that group at 5- over.
Play at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational continues on Monday with the first groups going out at 8 a.m.
