Feb. 16, 2009
Ward tied for first in the individual standings, leading UCF to a third-place showing at the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. Ward, who carded a 3-under 67 in the final round, finished the tournament at 205 (-5). He concluded the event tied Toby Ragland and Billy Horschel of No. 14 Florida. Ragland claimed medalist honors following a playoff. The event included 10 squads ranked in the top-50 nationally according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Ward began the tournament by carding a 2-under 70. He followed that up with an even-par 70 in the second round. The tournament was the first of the spring campaign for the 24th-ranked Knights.