PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — After Ian Gilligan of Florida and Nick Gabrelcik of North Florida battled for the individual lead during the first 12 holes of the Sea Best Invitational’s final round on Tuesday, Gabrelcik’s teammate Robbie Higgins, playing in the group ahead, passed them both with short birdie putts at Nos. 13 and 15 at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course.
Higgins then hit neither fairway nor green at the toughest par-4 hole on the course and delivered the birdie that gave him his second college tournament title.
Higgins, a senior left-hander from Bradenton, chipped in from behind the 17th green and with a shout and a fist pump gave himself a three-shot lead that assured the individual title in the opening spring tournament for 15 teams.
Higgins was able to play No. 18 for a safe bogey and with a 65, finished at 5-under-par 205, one shot ahead of Gilligan (69) and three over Gabrelcik (69).
The defending national champion Gators won their third Sea Best title in a row and seventh overall at 2-over-par 842, slipping past UNF by three shots. The next nearest team was Louisville, another 15 shots behind the Ospreys.
Robbie Higgins had one bogey
Higgins nearly chipped in at the final hole, with the ball sliding past the cup on the high side and leaving an 8-foot par putt, which he missed for his only bogey of the day.
But the shot of the day was his chip at No. 17, to a tight pin from about 18 feet away.
The hole is one of two par-5 holes on the course that play as par-4s for the tournament. Higgins’ drive went into the right rough, leaving him 186 yards from the hole, with a tree in his way.
Higgins took a 6-iron and punched it under the tree, hoping to be short or have the ball roll onto the green. But he caught it heavy and the ball ran through the green to the back apron.
He hit the chip low and it skidded, checked up and then hit the back of the hole.
Higgins said he charged the hole on the chip and felt if he missed it, he would have, at worst, an 8-foot putt coming back.
“It’s so grainy around the green … I told myself I’m going to hit a great shot,” he said. “If it rolls 8 feet past, then I’ve got to make a putt for par. I executed a perfect shot and the hole got in the way.”
Robbie Higgins has delivered in the clutch before
Higgins has been there before. Two years ago he chipped in the last to give the Ospreys the title by one shot in The Hayt, the tournament they host at the Sawgrass Country Club.
“He doesn’t mind the moment,” said UNF coach Scott Schroeder. “He enjoys that challenge.”
Higgins said he would have preferred his chip-in meant the team title before an individual trophy.
“I’m a team-first guy,” he said. “I’m about whether we win before I worry about whether I’ll win.”
Ian Gilligan, Nick Gabrelcik traded birdies, bogeys
While Higgins was making birdie on three of five holes to charge into the lead, Gilligan and Gabrelcik had problems. Gilligan, a junior transfer from Long Beach State, began the day with a two-shot lead, still held that margin at the turn, but lost it with a bogey at No. 10 coupled with Gabrelcik’s 8-foot birdie putt.
Gilligan then found the water on the par-3 11th hole and bogeyed his fourth hole in a row to give Gabrelcik a two-shot lead.
It was Gabrelcik’s turn to give shots back. He three-putted No. 13 for a bogey while Gilligan was righting the ship with a 25-foot birdie putt, on the heels of a gutty 6-foot putt for par at No. 12. Gabrelcik then doubled the par-3 14th after pulling his tee shot long and left.
Neither player could catch Higgins but Florida coach J.C. Deacon admired Gilligan’s fortitude for rallying from five bogeys in eight holes to secure second place.
“He’s got a lot of heart … he’s a very talented player and that experience today is going to help a lot going forward,” Deacon said. “I’m excited for him.”
Gators’ depth carries them to the team title
Florida led by seven shots to start the day but when Gabrelcik and Higgins were a combined 6-under through 12 holes, with no bogeys, UNF caught the Gators and led by two shots.
With Gilligan recovering from his bogey streak, Tyler Wilkes (70) tying for fourth and freshman Jack Turner (70) tying for seventh, the Gators regained the lead and got their spring off to a satisfying start: winning a tournament on a tough course, turning back a tough opponent.
“That was huge for a young team,” said Deacon, who started two players from the national championship team this week, Matthew Kress and John DuBois. “Most of our lineups have never really been in that situation so for them to have to get out and hit shots down the stretch on such a challenging golf course should give us a lot of confidence.”
Schroeder was no less optimistic about what the second-place finish might mean for a team that is the clear favorite in the ASUN, behind seniors Gabrelcik, Higgins and Davis Lee, and junior Andrew Riley, who won the NCAA Division II individual national championship last year at Palm Beach Atlantic.
“It was good for us to get in the mix,” Schroeder said. “We got a two-shot lead at one point and then we made a lot of mistakes for about an hour. Hopefully a learning lesson and something that will motivate them for the next three months.”
The two teams will see each other soon, at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville Feb. 17-18.
