Correa Leads Bulls to Third-Place Finish at Gator Invitational

Saturday, February 17

Gainesville, FL

University of South Florida

SunTrust Gator Invitational

Correa Leads Bulls to Third-Place Finish at Gator Invitational

February 18, 2018 | Men's Golf

By: By TOM ZEBOLD | USF Senior Writer

TEAM SCORES
PLAYER SCORES

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla., FEB. 18, 2018 – Claudio Correa nearly captured a title while third-place USF finished strong at the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Sunday.

Correa took a one-shot lead into the final round and wound up tying for second place at 7-under. The senior from Santiago, Chile shot under par in all three rounds (65-69-69) to finish in second for the second time in the past three events. Missouri's Hayden Buckley won the event at 8-under.

Firing a 4-under 276, No. 25 USF carded its best team round of the tournament to finish in third at 5-under. No. 5 Vanderbilt (-18) captured the team title with a nine-shot victory over No. 6 Florida at Mark Bostick Golf Course (par 70, 6,701 yards).

Head coach Steve Bradley's Bulls secured their fourth top-three finish in six events this season and Cristian DiMarco helped USF move up a spot on the final day with a 2-under 68. The senior from Longwood, Fla., tied for 12^th at 3-under in his team-leading sixth straight top-15 finish of the season.

Sophomore Kyle Flexsenhar (Lake Mary, Fla.) carded an even-par 70 in the final round to move up to a tie for 27^th at 2-over, just one shot outside the top 25. Senior Jimmy Jones (Tampa) posted his top round of the tournament with a 69 and tied for 30th place at 3-over.

USF Scores

3	South Florida	278	281	276	835
T2	Claudio Correa (2)	65	69	69	203
T12	Cristian DiMarco (1)	69	70	68	207
T27	Kyle Flexsenhar (4)	71	71	70	212
T30	Jimmy Jones (3)	73	71	69	213
T46	Priyanshu Singh (5)	74	73	70	217

Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley on the team's performance in the final round:
"Vandy played a different golf course, it seemed like, than everybody else played today, but the course was set up probably the most difficult of the three rounds. Kind of where we were to start the day, I figured if we played solid and we were able to get to 8-under as a team, we probably could get into second place. The guys played solid and took what the course gave them. Overall, I think they did a really good job of staying in their game plan and maintaining their composure. Obviously, you'd like to finish a little better but third place in that field, we're pleased with that."

Bradley on Correa's impressive tournament and season so far:
"This summer did a lot for his confidence. He played well in the fall and obviously he's come out and played pretty well in the spring. He bounced back after JU's event and had another solid event, where he gave himself an opportunity to win. I know he's disappointed that he came up a shot short but all in all, he did a really good job of maintaining his composure and really put together 54 pretty solid holes. He's brimming with confidence, even though he's a little disappointed."

Notable

USF collected its fourth top-three finish of the season and has placed in the top six in all six events this season.
Claudio Correa shot par or better on 48 of 54 holes with 11 birdies and an eagle.
USF finished third in the field with 47 total birdies, just three off the tournament lead.

Up Next
USF will continue its tradition of competing in the Querencia Cabo Collegiate, which is set for March 4-6 in Los Cabos, Mexico.

About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf returns six players from the 2016-17 team that captured the program's third consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title. Head coach Steve Bradley has been at the helm for all three league championship runs and guided the Bulls back to the final rounds of the NCAA Championship in 2016. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.