Friday, May 27
Scottsdale, Ariz. / Grayhawk Golf Club
3:25 p.m. (18 holes)
Florida Gators
at
NCAA National Championships
Last year, Ricky Castillo finished 12th individually at the National Championships at Grayhawk.
Gators Tee Off National Championships Friday
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 | Men's Golf
Florida enters as the No. 9 seed and will tee off Grayhawk on Friday at 3:25 p.m. ET.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Friday, May 27 - Wednesday, June 1
Location: Scottsdale, Ariz. - Grayhawk Golf Club
Host: NCAA and Arizona State University
Course Par/Yardage: 70 / 7,300 yards
Format: 72-hole stroke play (first cut after 54-holes and final after 72-holes) and match play
Tee Times: 3:25 p.m. on Friday and 10:05 a.m. on Saturday, other days TBD
Live Scoring: Golf Stat
Watch: Golf Channel: Monday - Wednesday
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
The Florida men's golf team begins play at National Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club on Friday at 3:25 p.m. ET off hole 10.
FLORIDA LINE UP
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Fred Biondi
No. 3 - Yuxin Lin
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Quentin Debove
Alternate - Tyler Wilkes
FORMAT
Finals play consists of three days of stroke play on Friday, May 27 thru Sunday, May 29 (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on Monday, May 30 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, May 31, followed by finals on Wednesday, June 1.
HOW TO WATCH
Golf Channel will again provide live coverage starting with the final round of stroke play to crown the individual national champion on Monday with coverage starting at 5 p.m. ET. The network will also provide live coverage of the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. For more information, click here.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Florida will make its 55th NCAA Championships experience and has only missed qualifying twice under head coach J.C. Deacon. The Gators have claimed four national titles - 1968, 1973, 1993 and 2001 - which ranks tied for 8th most in the nation and second in the SEC. The program has also finished runner-up four times (1967, 1974, 1990, 2006) for a total 17 top-5 finishes.
UF has made the championship in 17 of the last 19 tournaments as its 55th appearance is fifth most in the nation behind Oklahoma State (74), Texas (66), USC (58) and Arizona State (57). Individually, Florida has touted the top finisher twice - Bob Murphy in 1966 and Nick Gilliam in 2001.
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange and Blue took care of business at the Palm Beach Regional and took third to earn the qualification to Grayhawk. After moving from T5 to third in round two, Florida shot 4-under (284) for the second straight day with three in the lineup finishing under at PGA National, home of the Honda Classic.
Fred Biondi ended runner-up and battled FSU's Brett Roberts, who won the individual crown, edging Biondi out by two strokes. The All-SEC First Team member, Biondi posted a 70 (-2) behind a clean 5-under on the front nine with his second eagle (hole 6, par 5, 488 yards) of the regional. On par 5s this week, Florida shot a combined 38-under as he shot -12 for an average of 4.0 and never posted above par on them.
The Gators posted three total eagles in the final round as Quentin Debove also recorded one on hole six. He was subbed in the lineup in the No. 5 spot today and posted an even 72, capped off by a birdie on 18. Debove's birdie to start the back nine pushed UF in solo second.
SEC AWARDS
Four Gators earned SEC awards prior to regional play. Fred Biondi and John DuBois both earned first-team honors for the first time in their career while Ricky Castillo collected his second straight second-team nod followed by Tyler Wilkes on the community service team.
BIONDI BREAKOUT
Redshirt junior Fred Biondi has posted a breakout season in the spring both for the Gators and on the national stage. He first set waves when finished runner-up at the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) to start the spring. Biondi followed up with tying the tournament record (196, -14) to win his first collegiate title and lead the Gators to its third straight VyStar Gators Invitational title.
He won his second career title in the spring final and has been named SEC Golfer of the Week twice and Golf Week Player of the Week. Biondi continued to add to his resume with becoming the first Brazilian player to be a participate for the Arnold Palmer Cup.
Prior to the start of nationals, he was named to the final watch list for the Fred Haskins Award.
THE CHAMP
Winning his first collegiate title, John DuBois became the 25th Gator to win the SEC Individual Championship, which is the most by any school in the conference. He tied for the third-lowest round (64, -6) in SEC history as concluded the stroke play portion of the tournament setting career lows in round (64), tournament score (204) and best finish (1).
The native of Windermere, Fla., followed his historic performance by sending the Florida men's golf team to the SEC Championship Finals with his victory on the playoff hole in the semifinals vs. No. 1 Texas A&M. He teed off the 18th 1-down and won the hole to force extras. DuBois nearly eagled the hole (565 yards, par 5) as he two putted from seven feet for another memorable moment. The junior went 2-1 in the match play portion of the SEC Championship as he played in all 27 rounds for the first time in his career.
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.
Dates: Friday, May 27 - Wednesday, June 1
Location: Scottsdale, Ariz. - Grayhawk Golf Club
Host: NCAA and Arizona State University
Course Par/Yardage: 70 / 7,300 yards
Format: 72-hole stroke play (first cut after 54-holes and final after 72-holes) and match play
Tee Times: 3:25 p.m. on Friday and 10:05 a.m. on Saturday, other days TBD
Live Scoring: Golf Stat
Watch: Golf Channel: Monday - Wednesday
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
The Florida men's golf team begins play at National Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club on Friday at 3:25 p.m. ET off hole 10.
FLORIDA LINE UP
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Fred Biondi
No. 3 - Yuxin Lin
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Quentin Debove
Alternate - Tyler Wilkes
FORMAT
Finals play consists of three days of stroke play on Friday, May 27 thru Sunday, May 29 (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on Monday, May 30 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, May 31, followed by finals on Wednesday, June 1.
HOW TO WATCH
Golf Channel will again provide live coverage starting with the final round of stroke play to crown the individual national champion on Monday with coverage starting at 5 p.m. ET. The network will also provide live coverage of the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. For more information, click here.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Florida will make its 55th NCAA Championships experience and has only missed qualifying twice under head coach J.C. Deacon. The Gators have claimed four national titles - 1968, 1973, 1993 and 2001 - which ranks tied for 8th most in the nation and second in the SEC. The program has also finished runner-up four times (1967, 1974, 1990, 2006) for a total 17 top-5 finishes.
UF has made the championship in 17 of the last 19 tournaments as its 55th appearance is fifth most in the nation behind Oklahoma State (74), Texas (66), USC (58) and Arizona State (57). Individually, Florida has touted the top finisher twice - Bob Murphy in 1966 and Nick Gilliam in 2001.
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange and Blue took care of business at the Palm Beach Regional and took third to earn the qualification to Grayhawk. After moving from T5 to third in round two, Florida shot 4-under (284) for the second straight day with three in the lineup finishing under at PGA National, home of the Honda Classic.
Fred Biondi ended runner-up and battled FSU's Brett Roberts, who won the individual crown, edging Biondi out by two strokes. The All-SEC First Team member, Biondi posted a 70 (-2) behind a clean 5-under on the front nine with his second eagle (hole 6, par 5, 488 yards) of the regional. On par 5s this week, Florida shot a combined 38-under as he shot -12 for an average of 4.0 and never posted above par on them.
The Gators posted three total eagles in the final round as Quentin Debove also recorded one on hole six. He was subbed in the lineup in the No. 5 spot today and posted an even 72, capped off by a birdie on 18. Debove's birdie to start the back nine pushed UF in solo second.
SEC AWARDS
Four Gators earned SEC awards prior to regional play. Fred Biondi and John DuBois both earned first-team honors for the first time in their career while Ricky Castillo collected his second straight second-team nod followed by Tyler Wilkes on the community service team.
BIONDI BREAKOUT
Redshirt junior Fred Biondi has posted a breakout season in the spring both for the Gators and on the national stage. He first set waves when finished runner-up at the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) to start the spring. Biondi followed up with tying the tournament record (196, -14) to win his first collegiate title and lead the Gators to its third straight VyStar Gators Invitational title.
He won his second career title in the spring final and has been named SEC Golfer of the Week twice and Golf Week Player of the Week. Biondi continued to add to his resume with becoming the first Brazilian player to be a participate for the Arnold Palmer Cup.
Prior to the start of nationals, he was named to the final watch list for the Fred Haskins Award.
THE CHAMP
Winning his first collegiate title, John DuBois became the 25th Gator to win the SEC Individual Championship, which is the most by any school in the conference. He tied for the third-lowest round (64, -6) in SEC history as concluded the stroke play portion of the tournament setting career lows in round (64), tournament score (204) and best finish (1).
The native of Windermere, Fla., followed his historic performance by sending the Florida men's golf team to the SEC Championship Finals with his victory on the playoff hole in the semifinals vs. No. 1 Texas A&M. He teed off the 18th 1-down and won the hole to force extras. DuBois nearly eagled the hole (565 yards, par 5) as he two putted from seven feet for another memorable moment. The junior went 2-1 in the match play portion of the SEC Championship as he played in all 27 rounds for the first time in his career.
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.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
SEC Champions - Men's Golf
Monday, April 28
One-on-One with J.C. Deacon - Florida Men's Golf
Thursday, April 17
Noah Kent Media Availability at The Masters
Tuesday, April 08
Gators Invite Recap 2-16-25
Wednesday, February 19
