Razorbacks Finish 10th at Valspar Collegiate
PALM CITY, Fla. – In a 17-team field that featured 14 of the nation’s top 45 programs – including five of the top eight – Arkansas finished 10th with an 8-under-par 844 (280-286-278) at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, played in Palm City, Fla., at the par-71 Floridian National Golf Club.
Four Razorbacks shot par or better in the final round to move up one spot to 10th and finish ahead of #8 North Carolina, #22 Tennessee, #42 Houston, #21 Texas Tech and #41 Wake Forest.
Second-ranked Texas led from wire-to-wire, finishing at -36, 13 strokes ahead of second place and third-ranked Arizona State (-23). The top five also included #14 Florida State (-22), #7 Oklahoma (-21) and #1 Auburn (-20).
Gerardo Gomez was under par all three rounds and tied for 12th with a 6-under 207 (68-69-70). He started round three on hole 9 and opened with a bogey. He birdied holes 14 and 15 before dropping a shot on 17. The freshman got back to 1-under with a birdie on 1, only to fall back to even with a bogey on 2. However, he birdied hole 7 and finished with a par for his final-round 70.
John Daly II led the Razorbacks in the final round with a 3-under 68. He opened the day on hole 10 with a birdie and got to 3-under with birdies on holes 13 and 17. He was even par on his back nine with two bogeys and two birdies. Daly moved up 13 spots in the leaderboard to tie for 37th with a 1-under-par, 54-hole score of 212 (71-73-68).
Erich Fortlage improved by one stroke each round and had the second-best Razorback score in round three. Overall, he tied for 25th with a 3-under 210 (71-70-69). In round three, Fortlage, who started on hole 9, was 1-over through seven holes with a birdie and two bogeys. He then reeled off birdies on holes 16 and 17 and added a birdie on hole 2 to finish with a 2-under 69.
Thomas Curry was 2-over for 54 holes and tied for 49th while Manuel Lozada placed 90th.
Arkansas returns to action Mar. 31 in the one-day, 36-hole Columbia Spring Invitational, played in Springfield, Pa., at Rolling Green Golf Club.
Valspar Collegiate Invitational
Mar. 24-25, 2025
Palm City, Fla. – Floridian National Golf Club (71)
Host: Houston
Format: 5 count 4
Final Results:
1 #2 Texas 271-272-273=816 / -36
2 #3 Arizona State 278-273-278=829 / -23
3 #14 Florida State 276-281-273=830 / -22
4 #7 Oklahoma 282-273-276=831 / -21
5 #1 Auburn 281-275-276=832 / -20
6 #17 Duke 280-277-276=833 / -19
7 #23 Texas A&M 275-284-277=836 / -16
8 #31 South Florida 278-289-271=838 / -14
9 #19 Vanderbilt 274-286-283=843 / -9
10 Arkansas 280-286-278=844 / -8
11 #8 North Carolina 284-278-284=846 / -6
12 #22 Tennessee 285-279-283=847 / -5
13 #42 Houston 285-284-279=848 / -4
14 #21 Texas Tech 292-279-281=852 / E
15 #41 Wake Forest 285-290-287=862 / +10
16 Ohio State 295-290-280=865 / +13
17 Augusta 292-289-290-=871 / +19
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