PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- The UCF men's golf team took third place at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club over the weekend. The Knights were led by sophomore Kyler Tate, who finished tied for ninth.
Tate carded a 4-over 76 in the first round. But he steadily climbed the leader board in rounds two and three. The Winter Garden, Fla. native turned in back-to-back rounds of 71 in the second and third rounds, en route to a ninth-place finish. It was his second Top 10 finish in just his seventh tournament as a Knight. Tate was even through the front nine Sunday. He opened with a birdie after the turn, gave a stroke back on the Par 3 12th, then finished strong with a birdie on the Par 5 18th hole to secure his placement.
As a team, UCF held the lead in the tournament after the first round, but dropped back to a tie for third after two rounds. They maintained that position Sunday, with a 3-over 291. UCF turned in the second-best round of the day in the third round to remain in the top three.
Junior Manuel Elvira was in the Top 20, finishing in a tie for 14th. After holding the first-round lead, Elvira slipped a bit with a 5-over 77 in the second round. But he bounced back a bit in the third round, carding a 1-over round of 73 for a total score of 219. Sophomore Donnie Trosper finished tied for 23rd at 5-over for the tournament. Freshman Bobby Bai recorded an even-par score of 72 Sunday to finish tied for 27th at +6 overall. Ryan Stovash tied for 51st at +12. Playing as an individual, junior Juuso Kahlos was 13-over and finished 55th.