Feb. 9, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Junior Zach Sucher carded a five-under 135 and is tied for third overall, to lead the UAB men's golf team through the opening two rounds of the SunTrust Gator Invitational. As a team, the Blazers are in third place after shooting a four-under par 556 (276-280).

"I thought we came out and played pretty well," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "Zach and Brad (Smith) really set the pace and I am fairly pleased with the way we played considering this is the first tournament of the spring season. I think we are in pretty good shape and hopefully, with a good round on Sunday, we can try for second or even push Florida for the tournament title."

Sucher got off to a hot start with five birdies and an eagle, but also recorded five bogeys to finish the opening round with a two-under 68 on the par 70, 6,701-yard University of Florida Golf Course. However, the Mobile, Ala. native played a bogey-free second round and collected three birdies to finish with a three-under 67. Sucher enters Sunday's third and final round two strokes back of overall leader Andrew Loupe of LSU (65-68/133).

Senior Brad Smith also performed well on day one of the prestigious event. Smith, who entered the event as the nation's 64th-ranked player, carded rounds of 68 and 70, to finish with a two-under par 138. He stands in 12th place overall when he begins the final 18 holes.

Senior Kyle Sapp finished the day with a three-over par 143 (69-74) and is in a tie for 36th, while sophomore Blake West is just behind Sapp and tied for 41st with a four-over 144 (75-69). Sophomore Cathal O'Malley rounds out the UAB golfers with a six-over 146 (71-75).

Tournament host Florida, which has won the event four consecutive years and 21 times in the 30-year history, blistered the course with an 18-under par 542 (269-273) and holds a 12-stroke advantage over second-place Florida State (278-276/554) entering the tournament's final round. Ole Miss is five strokes back of UAB in fourth overall with a one-over par 561 (280-281), while LSU rounds out the top five with a two-over 562 (283-279).

The Blazers will tee off their final round on Sunday at approximately 9 a.m. CT. Live stats can be found at golfstat.com.