PONTE VEDRA, Fla. - Freshman
Ricky Castillo captured his first collegiate title and junior
John Axelsen was the individual runner up as the Florida men's golf team took second place at the Sea Best Invitational on Tuesday.
The Gators fired off a 5-under 275 in the final round to finish the event at 11-under 829. Although the team posted its best results of the 2019-20 season, the Gators' total was two strokes behind tournament champion Texas A&M.
Castillo was flawless from the jump despite the imminent pressure from the field all day. The freshman carded a clean 5-under 65 through the final round, securing a first-place finish at 9 under overall. Castillo's 65 is also a new career low.
Axelsen took second place individually behind another steady performance. The Denmark native sunk six birdies through his final 18 holes, signing a 2 under on the day to end with a 5 under total. Axelsen's runner-up performance marks his third top-10 finish of the season and seventh of his career.
Junior
Chris Nido recorded his best round of the two-day tournament through the last 18 holes, coming in at even par to put him at 4 over collectively. Redshirt senior
Blake Dyer rounded out the Gators' counting scores for the day with a 2 over performance.
Notable
- The Gators finished the event ahead of five ranked teams, included four ranked higher than them – No. 35 Liberty, No. 13 North Carolina, No. 31 North Florida and No. 21 Arkansas.
- Ricky Castillo is the Gators' first individual champion in a tournament since Andy Zhang won the 2018 NCAA Regional
- Castillo is also the first Gators freshman to win an event since Sam Horsfield took first place at the Mason Rudolph Championship 2016
- Ryan Orr was the last Florida player to with the Sea Best invitational (2017) with a total score of 6-under 204.
Head Coach JC Deacon's Take
On the team's performance at the Sea Best…
"It's disappointing not to win, but you've got to hand it to Texas A&M. We were in a tight battle and they finished off the last two holes and really played great all week. Same goes for Ricky and winning the individual title. He was absolutely the best player this week. To go bogey free on that golf course in the final round tells you everything you need to know about this kid. And this is just the start for him."
On how the team will benefit from this experience as the season goes on…
"For our team, it was a great experience that's going to serve us very well going forward. I thought we played some of our best golf in the final round when we were in the last group and the stakes were up. I am not surprised by this result at all. Our work ethic and intensity at home has been outstanding. Our challenge will be to sustain that for the entire spring semester."
On the competitiveness he sees from his team…
"I do have a great feeling about this team, but every guy on our roster needs to earn their spot each and every day. Qualifying this coming weekend for our home event should be insanely competitive. I can't wait to get back to work."
Up Next
Florida returns to Gainesville for the Gators Invitational presented by VyStar, its only home event of the season. The two-day tournament is scheduled to run from Saturday, Feb. 15 to Sunday, Feb. 16 and will take place at Mark Bostick Golf Course.
Scores
Team Leaderboard
| Position |
Team |
Score |
| 1 |
Texas A&M |
827 (-13) |
| 2 |
Florida |
829 (-11) |
| 3 |
Liberty |
841 (+1) |
| 4 |
North Carolina |
842 (+2) |
| 5 |
North Florida |
847 (+7) |
| 6 |
NC State |
851 (+11) |
| 7 |
Lipscomb |
855 (+15) |
| 8 |
Campbell |
860 (+20) |
| 9 |
UNLV |
862 (+22) |
| 10 |
Jacksonville |
865 (+25) |
| 11 |
USC Upstate |
868 (+28) |
| T12 |
East Carolina |
872 (+32) |
| T12 |
Arkansas |
872 (+32) |
| 14 |
McNeese State |
885 (+45) |
Florida Individual
