Sunday, April 3
Naples, Fla. / Calusa Pines Golf Club
1:30 p.m. (18 Holes)
Florida Gators
at
Calusa Cup
No. 13/16 Gators Closeout Regular Season at Calusa Cup
Saturday, April 2, 2022 | Men's Golf
Florida tees off round one at 1:30 p.m. at Calusa Pines Golf Club.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Sunday, April 3 - Tuesday, April 5
Location: Calusa Pines Golf Club - Naples, Fla.
Host: University of Iowa
Course Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,320 yards
Format: 54-hole strokeplay (18-18-18)
Tee Times: 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and TBA on Monday and Tuesday
Live Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
The No. 13/16 Florida men's golf team closeout the regular season at the Calusa Cup from April 3-5.
FLORIDA LINE UP
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Fred Biondi
No. 3 - Yuxin Lin
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Tyler Wilkes
THE FIELD (Golfstat / Golfweek Top-25)
No. 1/1 Oklahoma, No.8/8 Georgia, No. 11/15 Georgia Tech, No. 16/13 Florida, No.17/15 Georgia Tech, No. 22/20 Clemson, No. 23/NR Purdue, Iowa (host) and Marquette.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Last season marked the inaugural tournament after it was canceled due to Covid-19 in 2020. The Gators took fourth led by Joe Pagdin who finished T5 behind a round one of 67.
LAST TIME OUT
The Florida men's golf team took third as four Gators finished in the top-25 at the Linger Longer Invitational.
UF shot 14-under for the tournament, tied for the third lowest under-par score of the season. The finish also marked the Gators' fifth consecutive top-5 finish this year, which last occurred in the 2017-18 season.
NO. 1
Redshirt Junior Fred Biondi was tabbed the No. 1 player in the final March Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings. He also sits No. 3 in Golfstat and No. 6 in Golfweek.
GATOR GREAT COACHES
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.
To start the spring, Deacon again took the program to another level with the addition of Gator Great and former FedEx Cup Champion, Billy Horschel, as a volunteer assistant coach. He was a four-year (2006-09) member of the Gator golf team, three-time (2006-07, 2009) first-team All-American and two-time (2007 & 2009) SEC Player of the Year with over 282 professional outings.
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.
NEW GATORS
The Florida men's golf team added two new faces this season in Miguel Leal (Guatemala City, Guatemala) 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
UF heads to the SEC Championships (April 20-24) at St. Simons Island.
Dates: Sunday, April 3 - Tuesday, April 5
Location: Calusa Pines Golf Club - Naples, Fla.
Host: University of Iowa
Course Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,320 yards
Format: 54-hole strokeplay (18-18-18)
Tee Times: 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and TBA on Monday and Tuesday
Live Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
The No. 13/16 Florida men's golf team closeout the regular season at the Calusa Cup from April 3-5.
FLORIDA LINE UP
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Fred Biondi
No. 3 - Yuxin Lin
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Tyler Wilkes
THE FIELD (Golfstat / Golfweek Top-25)
No. 1/1 Oklahoma, No.8/8 Georgia, No. 11/15 Georgia Tech, No. 16/13 Florida, No.17/15 Georgia Tech, No. 22/20 Clemson, No. 23/NR Purdue, Iowa (host) and Marquette.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Last season marked the inaugural tournament after it was canceled due to Covid-19 in 2020. The Gators took fourth led by Joe Pagdin who finished T5 behind a round one of 67.
LAST TIME OUT
The Florida men's golf team took third as four Gators finished in the top-25 at the Linger Longer Invitational.
UF shot 14-under for the tournament, tied for the third lowest under-par score of the season. The finish also marked the Gators' fifth consecutive top-5 finish this year, which last occurred in the 2017-18 season.
NO. 1
Redshirt Junior Fred Biondi was tabbed the No. 1 player in the final March Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings. He also sits No. 3 in Golfstat and No. 6 in Golfweek.
GATOR GREAT COACHES
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.
To start the spring, Deacon again took the program to another level with the addition of Gator Great and former FedEx Cup Champion, Billy Horschel, as a volunteer assistant coach. He was a four-year (2006-09) member of the Gator golf team, three-time (2006-07, 2009) first-team All-American and two-time (2007 & 2009) SEC Player of the Year with over 282 professional outings.
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.
NEW GATORS
The Florida men's golf team added two new faces this season in Miguel Leal (Guatemala City, Guatemala) 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
UF heads to the SEC Championships (April 20-24) at St. Simons Island.
Players Mentioned
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