Freshman golfers step up for UA

Arkansas golfer Mason Overstreet helped the Razorbacks win the SunTrust Gator Invitational.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks played without their top golfer last weekend at No. 2 Florida's SunTrust Gator Invitational.

Coach Brad McMakin called on Mason Overstreet, one of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville's big group of freshmen, to replace Alvaro Ortiz. Arkansas beat the field by seven strokes, with Charles Kim firing a 6-under par to claim medalist honors for his first tournament victory.

"We had a bunch of young guys come in -- four freshmen stepped up -- and Charles Kim, a sophomore, won the tournament," McMakin said. "I knew it was going to be tough that last day. I knew [Florida] would come out and put a good number on the board. But I was really excited to see how those guys handled the pressure on the last day of trying to go out and win a tournament."

Arkansas moved up to No. 26 in the GolfStat and Golf Week college rankings this week, with the Razorbacks heading into a power-packed field at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico, starting Sunday. Ortiz, who had a stomach illness that kept him off the course, is expected to compete in Mexico. Ortiz is the team leader with a stroke average of 70.5 and 10 under-par rounds out of 18 played.

Overstreet, who would have played as an individual if he hadn't needed to fill in for the team, finished 12th with a 4-over, and classmate Luis Garza tied for 16th with a final round 65 to finish at 5-over in Gainesville, Fla. Freshman Dylan Naidoo tied for 33rd at 8-over, and freshman William Buhl tied for 48th at 14-over.

"I can see the confidence is building with these young kids, and the more they play well, the more it grows," McMakin said.

Kim bounced back from a rough fall season to beat Missouri's Rory Franssen by a stroke at the SunTrust Gator Invitational.

"I could tell a difference in him after the round and then since we've been home," McMakin said. "He's got his shoulders up. He's walking a little differently. He's a really, really good player."

The loaded field in Los Cabos includes No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Georgia, No. 10 Oklahoma State and No. 18 Wake Forest among others.

McMakin said the team's turnaround began with sharp improvements in the short game.

"We struggled in the fall with some things, our short game and stuff," he said. "It's been incredible the first two weeks. We've had PGA Tour stats in the short game area. If we can continue to do that, we won't have a worry in the world."

Sports on 02/25/2017