Gators Win Sea Best Invitational to Begin Spring Season

Tuesday, February 1

Jacksonville, Fla. / TPC Sawgrass - Dye’s Valley Course

8:45 a.m. (18 Holes)

Florida Gators

Sea Best Invitational

The Gators began the spring season with their fifth title at the Sea Best Invitational

Gators Win Sea Best Invitational to Begin Spring Season

Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | Men's Golf

Photo Gallery

Florida combined to shoot 4-under on the final day to win the event for the fifth time in program history.

By: Matthew Hutchison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Gators trailed by three strokes to enter the final day of the Sea Best Invitational on Tuesday and went 4-under in the final round to win the tournament.

Florida claimed the spring opening tournament for the fifth time in program history and third time under head coach J.C. Deacon.

Leading the charge were Ricky Castillo and John DuBois with each a 67 (-3) in the final round. A native of Yorba Linda, Calif., Castillo began the day with four birdies through the first seven holes, including one later on the 14th to give the Gators a one-stroke lead. DuBois (-1) finished tied for runner-up marking his best collegiate finish, which was previously T15 at the LSU Invitational last year.

Yuxin Lin recorded a hole-in-one on the 14th to notch his second of the season after sinking one at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational in the fall opener. The ace was followed by four birdies from Castillo (2), Dubois (1) and Fred Biondi (1) on the back nine to push the Gators to its largest lead of nine strokes and hold off Liberty who ended six strokes back in second.

Individually, Tyler Wilkes earned his best collegiate finish at T10 to tie for the top individual spot with Quentin Debove two strokes behind at T21. Ryan Hart (T50) made his collegiate debut and shot 2-under on the front.

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.

Scores

Florida Individual

Place	Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Score
T2	John DuBois	72	70	67	209 (-1)
T4	Ricky Castillo	68	76	67	211 (+1)
T10	Tyler Wilkes*	74	68	71	213 (+3)
T21	Quentin Debove*	72	70	73	215 (+5)
T27	Fred Biondi	73	71	72	216 (+6)
T27	Yuxin Lin	74	72	70	216 (+6)
T50	Ryan Hart*	74	76	71	221 (+11)
T61	Giovanni Manzoni	78	70	76	224 (+15)
T73	Joe Pagdin*	76	77	76	229 (+19)

*Competing as an Individual

Team Leaderboard

Place	School	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Score
1	Florida	287	283	276	846 (+6)
2	Liberty	285	284	283	852 (+12)
3	North Florida	296	283	274	853 (+13)
4	UAB	282	290	285	857 (+17)
T5	College of Charleston	285	282	291	858 (+18)
T5	Louisville	288	288	282	858 (+18)
7	Texas A&M	294	281	284	859 (+19)
8	Campbell	284	284	292	860 (+20)
T9	Florida Gulf Coast	293	289	284	866 (+26)
T9	Jacksonville	293	286	287	866 (+26)
11	Charlotte	288	291	288	867 (+27)
12	Lipscomb	295	293	291	879 (+39)
13	USC Upstate	308	297	297	902 (+62)

Quotable

Head Coach J.C. Deacon...

On the victory...
"This win started on October 20th, the day our fall season ended. Coach Dudley Hart and I challenged the boys to have their best off-season ever and today is a byproduct of that. We did some things differently and did them at a very high level.

I am pleased the guys got some results to match the work they have put in. That's not always the case in sports. Success is never guaranteed, but today was an awesome round and a great victory."

"This win is a wonderful start to the spring and a sign that our vision for the program is on the right track. We've got a lot to improve and I know everyone is excited to get back at in 10 days at the VyStar Gators invitational, our one and only home tournament of the year."

On performances by Ricky Castillo and John DuBois...
"These guys are so important to this team. They're juniors now and understand exactly what is expected. They have spent a ton of time together working on their games this off-season. For both of them to top-5 this week is really special. I'm so happy for two great Florida Gators."