Freshmen Lead Gators on Day One

Sunday, September 29

Portland, OR

ALL DAY

Florida Gators

Nike Collegiate Invitational

Freshmen Lead Gators on Day One

Sunday, September 29, 2019 | Men's Golf

The Florida men's golf team is in eighth place after round one of the Nike Collegiate Invitational

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Florida men's golf team shot 2-under 282 and currently sit in eighth place after the first round of the Nike Collegiate Invitational on Sunday at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course.

Freshman Ricky Castillo had a phenomenal opening round on the course and is tied for second after shooting a career-low 4-under 67. Castillo carded six birdies throughout the day, including a bogey-free front nine.

Quentin Debove also had a solid outing for the Gators. After a tough start, the freshman found his footing in the second half of the round, shooting 3 under on the back nine to finish at 1 under and tied for 26th on the leaderboard.

John Axelsen was blemish-free through 13 holes, but a couple of bogeys towards the end of the round put him at even par on the day and tied for 30th as an individual.

Freshman Fred Biondi rounded out the Gators' counting scores with a 3-over 74.

The second round of the Nike Collegiate Invitational is set to begin tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. ET.

Head Coach JC Deacon's Take
On the team's first round performance...
"Today was a good test for us. Temperature in the 40s with some wind. I love the way our guys responded. We didn't end up with a great team score, but it was very close. Closer than we've been to date."

On tomorrow's round...
"We are 100 percent building some momentum. I expect Chris (Nido) and Fred (Biondi) to come back with big rounds tomorrow because they have been playing great. Ricky (Castillo), Quentin (Debove) and John (Axelsen) have been rock solid. When it all comes together this team is going to be really exciting. Back to work tomorrow!"

Scores

*Team Leaderboard*
Position	Team	Score
1	Oklahoma	270
2	Oklahoma State	276
T3	Texas	278
T3	Clemson	278
5	Wake Forest	279
6	Georgia	280
7	Vanderbilt	281
8	Florida	282
9	Duke	284
T10	Baylor	285
T10	Southern California	285
12	TCU	286
13	Stanford	287
14	Oregon	288
15	Ohio State	289