Axelsen Notches Second-Place Finish, Gators Take Seventh

Sunday, September 22

Chicago, IL

ALL DAY

Florida Gators

OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational

Axelsen Notches Second-Place Finish, Gators Take Seventh

Sunday, September 22, 2019 | Men's Golf

John Axelsen recorded the highest individual finish of his career while the Gators placed seventh at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational.

CHICAGO, Ill. – John Axelsen finished second individually while the Florida men's golf team took seventh place among a talented field at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. Georgia Tech and Baylor both tied for first with collective scores of 6-over 846.

Axelsen played steady for the Gators the whole weekend. The junior shot even through the first two rounds, but making putts through the last 18 holes was what allowed Axelsen to climb five spots on the leaderboard and notch a second-place finish.

"I played solid all three days with only a few mistakes," said Axelsen. "My putts didn't really roll in the first two days which reflects my score. Today was much better and it was probably the biggest difference."

Axelsen ended the tournament 3 under, one of only three players to finish under par. Axelsen's second-place finish also marks the highest individual finish of his career.

Ricky Castillo was also solid through the final round. The freshman carded five birdies to finish the day at 2 under, putting him at 5 over for the tournament and tied for 24^th individually. This is Castillo's second top-25 finish in as many tournaments.

Quentin Debove recorded three birdies throughout the final round, but several bogeys put him at 4 over on the day. However, a phenomenal first-round performance from the freshman kept him at 8 over overall and tied for 34^th on the leaderboard.

In his first appearance in the Gators' lineup, John DuBois finished tied for 51^st.

Sophomore Eugene Hong finished tied for 72^nd.

Notable

The Gators tied Georgia Tech and Texas A&M for the lowest final-round score at 1 over
Florida finished ahead of No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 16 California and No. 21 Alabama
Ricky Castillo set a new career-low round with his third-round 68
John Axelsen led all players in the tournament on Par 4s with an average score of 3.94

Head Coach JC Deacon's Take
On playing in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational…
"We want to thank Mike Small and the OFCC Tournament committee for an incredible event. It was absolutely one of the best I've seen in college golf. The golf course, the organization and competition were first class. It's an honor to play in tournaments like this."

On the team's final round…
"I'm really proud of our final round. It was another tough day and our team responded. In a field filled with National Championship contenders, we tied for the lowest final-round score. That's exactly what we needed to see."

On John Axelsen and Ricky Castillo's third-round performances…
"Ricky and John were outstanding today. They are going to be a strong one-two combo at the top of our lineup. We have so much room to improve and our freshmen are learning those lessons fast. We are only going to get tougher, more comfortable and more confident going forward. I can't wait to get back on the road to Oregon next Friday."

Scores

Team Leaderboard
Position	Team	Score
T1	Georgia Tech	846
T1	Baylor	846
3	Pepperdine	849
4	North Carolina	856
T5	Illinois	859
T5	Texas A&M	859
7	*Florida*	*860*
8	Florida State	861
9	Texas	863
10	Alabama	872
11	Northwestern	873
T12	California	877
T12	Oklahoma State	877
14	UNLV	884
15	Indiana	904