Monday, January 31
Jacksonville, Fla. / TPC Sawgrass - Dye’s Valley Course
8 a.m. (36 Holes)
Florida Gators
at
Sea Best Invitational
The Gators have won the Sea Best four times, including back-to-back appearances twice.
Gators Tee Off Spring at Sea Best Invitational
Saturday, January 29, 2022 | Men's Golf
Round one begins on Monday at 8 a.m. at TPC Sawgrass.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Monday, Jan. 31 - Tuesday, Feb. 1
Location: TPC Sawgrass - Dye's Valley Course - Jacksonville, Fla.
Host: Jacksonville University
Course Par/Yardage: 70, 6,873 yards
Format: 54-hole stroke play (36-18)
Tee Times: 8 a.m. ET both days
Live Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
FLORIDA LINE UP:
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Yuxin Lin
No. 3 - John DuBois
No. 4 - Fred Biondi
No. 5 - Giovanni Manzoni
Individuals - Quentin Debove, Ryan Hart*, Joe Pagdin and Tyler Wilkes
* Marks collegiate and Gators debut
TEE OFF
The Florida men's golf team tees off the spring season at the Sea Best Invitational at TPC Sawgrass from Jan. 31 - Feb. 1.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Florida has captured success at the Sea Best, winning the tournament back-to-back seasons (2010-11 & 2011-12) in the team's first two outings. The Gators won the event consecutive times again in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons followed by a third-place finish the next season (2017-18) and runner-up in 2019-20. The last outing also marked Ricky Castillo's first collegiate title shooting 8-under. In eight total appearances, two other Gators have been individual medalists in T.J. Vogel (2011-12), Sam Horsfield (2015-16) and Ryan Orr (2016-17).
THE FIELD
Campbell, Charlotte, Charleston, FGCU, Jacksonville (host), Liberty, Lipscomb, Louisville, North Florida, Texas A&M, UAB and USC-Upstate.
LAST TIME OUT
Florida wrapped up the fall on a strong note with the second-lowest round (282) o the fall for a T5 finish. Fred Biondi led the way with a 67 (-5) behind a clean front nine and only bogeying once, on the final hole of the day. His performance was one stroke away from his career-low of 66 he set at the Sea Best Invitational in 2020. Biondi jumped 30 spots to record his first top-25 finish of the fall at T13 as his 67 was tied for the lowest round at the event.
OFF-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Fred Biondi rode the momentum into the off-season and finished tied for runner-up at the 2022 Latin Ameria Amateur Championship (LAAC). In his fourth consecutive appearance at the tournament, his 65 (-7) in round three on moving day tied the tournament course record and moved him into second on the final day, jumping 14 spots. With the performance, Biondi will be exempt into the final stages of qualifying for The Open and the U.S. Open Championship.
Concluding his 2021 strong, Quentin Debove had a runner-up finish at the Dixie Amateur and T3 outing at the Sunshine State Am. Freshman Matthew Kress started the new year with a 5-under top-15 placement in the Saguaro Am Series and a trio of Gators had rounds in the 60's to make the cut at the South Beach Am in John DuBois (67), Biondi (68) and Tyler Wilkes (69).
Both Joe Pagdin and Wilkes got to compete in marque tournaments as Pagdin represented Team England at The Spirit and Wilkes competed in the Patriot All-America, honoring fallen heroes.
PRESEASON RANKINGS & RECOGNITION
The Gators earned preseason recognition and were selected 8th in the Golf Channel/Golf Weekly and T17th by GCAA Preseason Polls. Ricky Castillo was 4th overall in the Top 30 Preseason Players by Golf Channel/Golf Weekly.
COACH DUDLEY
In the fall, head coach J.C. Deacon announced the addition of Dudley Hart as the next assistant coach. The Gator Great spent the last four seasons as the volunteer assistant coach. He was four-time All American, the 1987 SEC Freshman of the Year and a two-time PGA Tour winner.
NEW GATORS
The Florida men's golf team added two new faces this season in Miguel Leal (Guatemala City) and Matthew Kress (Saratoga, Calif.) Leal won the 2020 Billy Horschel Junior Championship and was a two-time winner (2019-20) of the Central American Junior Tournament. Kress attended Bellarmine College Prep and shot 11-under par to win the FCG Encinitas Junior Championship. He was a 2018 First Team All-League WCAL and helped his school win the 2018 WCAL Championships.
THE TURN
The Orange and Blue host the 45th annual VyStar Gators Invitational from Feb. 12-13 and aim to win the event for the third-straight year and 28th time.
Dates: Monday, Jan. 31 - Tuesday, Feb. 1
Location: TPC Sawgrass - Dye's Valley Course - Jacksonville, Fla.
Host: Jacksonville University
Course Par/Yardage: 70, 6,873 yards
Format: 54-hole stroke play (36-18)
Tee Times: 8 a.m. ET both days
Live Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
FLORIDA LINE UP:
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Yuxin Lin
No. 3 - John DuBois
No. 4 - Fred Biondi
No. 5 - Giovanni Manzoni
Individuals - Quentin Debove, Ryan Hart*, Joe Pagdin and Tyler Wilkes
* Marks collegiate and Gators debut
TEE OFF
The Florida men's golf team tees off the spring season at the Sea Best Invitational at TPC Sawgrass from Jan. 31 - Feb. 1.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Florida has captured success at the Sea Best, winning the tournament back-to-back seasons (2010-11 & 2011-12) in the team's first two outings. The Gators won the event consecutive times again in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons followed by a third-place finish the next season (2017-18) and runner-up in 2019-20. The last outing also marked Ricky Castillo's first collegiate title shooting 8-under. In eight total appearances, two other Gators have been individual medalists in T.J. Vogel (2011-12), Sam Horsfield (2015-16) and Ryan Orr (2016-17).
THE FIELD
Campbell, Charlotte, Charleston, FGCU, Jacksonville (host), Liberty, Lipscomb, Louisville, North Florida, Texas A&M, UAB and USC-Upstate.
LAST TIME OUT
Florida wrapped up the fall on a strong note with the second-lowest round (282) o the fall for a T5 finish. Fred Biondi led the way with a 67 (-5) behind a clean front nine and only bogeying once, on the final hole of the day. His performance was one stroke away from his career-low of 66 he set at the Sea Best Invitational in 2020. Biondi jumped 30 spots to record his first top-25 finish of the fall at T13 as his 67 was tied for the lowest round at the event.
OFF-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Fred Biondi rode the momentum into the off-season and finished tied for runner-up at the 2022 Latin Ameria Amateur Championship (LAAC). In his fourth consecutive appearance at the tournament, his 65 (-7) in round three on moving day tied the tournament course record and moved him into second on the final day, jumping 14 spots. With the performance, Biondi will be exempt into the final stages of qualifying for The Open and the U.S. Open Championship.
Concluding his 2021 strong, Quentin Debove had a runner-up finish at the Dixie Amateur and T3 outing at the Sunshine State Am. Freshman Matthew Kress started the new year with a 5-under top-15 placement in the Saguaro Am Series and a trio of Gators had rounds in the 60's to make the cut at the South Beach Am in John DuBois (67), Biondi (68) and Tyler Wilkes (69).
Both Joe Pagdin and Wilkes got to compete in marque tournaments as Pagdin represented Team England at The Spirit and Wilkes competed in the Patriot All-America, honoring fallen heroes.
PRESEASON RANKINGS & RECOGNITION
The Gators earned preseason recognition and were selected 8th in the Golf Channel/Golf Weekly and T17th by GCAA Preseason Polls. Ricky Castillo was 4th overall in the Top 30 Preseason Players by Golf Channel/Golf Weekly.
COACH DUDLEY
In the fall, head coach J.C. Deacon announced the addition of Dudley Hart as the next assistant coach. The Gator Great spent the last four seasons as the volunteer assistant coach. He was four-time All American, the 1987 SEC Freshman of the Year and a two-time PGA Tour winner.
NEW GATORS
The Florida men's golf team added two new faces this season in Miguel Leal (Guatemala City) and Matthew Kress (Saratoga, Calif.) Leal won the 2020 Billy Horschel Junior Championship and was a two-time winner (2019-20) of the Central American Junior Tournament. Kress attended Bellarmine College Prep and shot 11-under par to win the FCG Encinitas Junior Championship. He was a 2018 First Team All-League WCAL and helped his school win the 2018 WCAL Championships.
THE TURN
The Orange and Blue host the 45th annual VyStar Gators Invitational from Feb. 12-13 and aim to win the event for the third-straight year and 28th time.
Players Mentioned
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