Gators Golfers in the Masters Recap Of Day 1

After a long day of first round action at Augusta National, two Gators are representing the University of Florida at the 2013 Masters Tournament. Florida senior T.J. Vogel finished his first round five over while former Gators Brian Gay concluded his day even at par. Vogel locked in his spot at the tournament after winning the 2012 Amateur Public Links Championship while Gay was invited after winning the Humana Challenge earlier this year.

The 22 year old Vogel began the tournament with three consecutive pars followed by bogies on the 4th and 7th holes as well as a double bogey on five. At four over par, Vogel finished the front nine at three under after a birdie on the 8th.  As for Gay, two birdies and a bogey on the 7th hole left him one under through his first nine.

Going into the back nine, Vogel started things off with a bogey on the 10th hole followed by consecutive bogies on twelve and thirteen dropping him to six over. With a par on the 14th hole, Vogel looked to build some momentum with back-to-back birdies on fifteen and sixteen bringing him back to four over par. Vogel’s efforts were not enough, however, as he bogied the final hole finishing his round at 77 (5+).

Meanwhile, Gay kept the ball rolling on the back nine with three consecutive pars and a birdie on thirteen to bring him to two under par. He was unable to maintain his play as back-to-back bogies on sixteen and seventeen dropped Gay to even. A par on the 18th hole left Gay in the middle of the field as he finished his first round at 72 (E).

Both Gators will start back up Friday in second round action as Brian Gay tees off with Larry Mize and Russell Henley starting at 11:07. T.J. Vogel pairs up with Marc Lieshman and two-time champion Jose Maria Olazabal when they tee of at 12:35 pm on Friday.