Three Gators Earn PING All-Region Honors
Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo prior to the 45th VyStar Gators Invitational.
Photo By: Craig Haas
Sunday, May 29, 2022

Three Gators Earn PING All-Region Honors

Ricky Castillo earned his third straight honor while Yuxin Lin received his second and Fred Biondi collected the first of his career.
NORMAN, Okla. - Prior to the Gators start of round three in the NCAA Championships, Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin were named to the Division I PING All-Region Southeast Team, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCCA) announced Sunday.  

The award is the third straight for Castillo, the second time for Lin, who earned 2020 All-West Region honors and the first for Biondi. 

After jumping 10 spots yesterday to T14, Florida tees off round three at 2:20 p.m. ET paired with Georgia Tech and Texas A&M.

Fred Biondi | R-Jr. | São Paulo, Brazil
  • No. 1 ranked player in Golfstat Cup Standings
    • Ranked No. 4 by Golfweek and No. 8 by Golfstat overall 
  • Recorded two victories this spring
    • Had two-runner up finishes along with a T7 and T25 
    • Finished runner-up at the Palm Beach Regional 
  • Posted a runner-up finish at the Latin America Amateur Championship 
  • Collected season awards: 
    • All-SEC First Team, Spring Haskins Award Watch List, SEC Co-Golfer and SEC Golfer of the Week and Golfweek Player of the Week
  • Selected to the Arnold Palmer Cup International Team 
  • Team leader:
    • Stroke average (69.9), under-par 54-hole scores (5), average relation to par for 18-holes (-1.0) and 54-holes (-3.1), top-5 (4)*, top-10 (5)*, top-25 (7)* finishes and birdies per round (3.9)
  • Shot lowest round (63, -7) and tournament (196, -14)
    • The 196 at the VyStar Gators Invitational tied the tournament record 
  • Second on the team in birdies (93) and eagles (4) 
  • Have posted 14 of 24 rounds under-par this season
    • 13 out of 21 in the spring
    • 11 rounds in the 60s total and 10 in the spring 
    • A stretch of eight consecutive under-par rounds
  • Only three rounds over par this spring and five this year
  • Went undefeated (2-0-1) in match play at the SEC Championship
    • Victories in the semifinals (4&3) and finals (2&1)
Ricky Castillo | Jr. | Yorba Linda, Calif.
  • Earned his third straight PING All-Region Honor
  • Named to All-SEC Second Team for second consecutive season for his fifth conference honor
  • Ranked 50th by Golfstat and 53rd by Golfweek
  • Team leader:
    • Under-par rounds (16), birdies (114), eagles (5),  top-5 (4)*, top-10 (5)* and top-25 (7)* finishes
  • Tied for lowest round under-par of the season; 63 (-7) at the Calusa Cup 
  • Had a stretch of five straight rounds in the 60s
  • Finished Top-25 or better in each spring tournament 
    • Started spring T4-2-T7 
    • Was runner-up at the VyStar Gators Invitational
  • Posted a record of 2-0-1 in match play at the SEC Championships
    • Won 3&2 in the quarterfinals and 2&1 in the finals 
  • Has played in all 10 tournaments and 30 rounds 
    • Been the No. 1 in the lineup in eight of them  
  • Second on the team in stroke average (71.4), under-par tournaments (4), rounds in the 60s (10), birdies per round (3.8), average relation to par for 18-holes (-1.0) and 54-holes (-3.1)
Yuxin Lin | Jr. | Beijing, China
  • Earned his second PING All-Region Honor
  • Ranked 60th in Golfstat and 61st by Golfweek 
  • Tied for team-lead in top-25 finishes (7) and under-par tournaments (5)
  • Second on the team in top-10 finishes with four and lowest under-par round at -6
  • Shot two hole-in-ones; in the season opener and spring opener
  • Third on the team:
    • Stroke average (71.5), average relation to par for 18-holes (+0.5) and 54-holes (+1.5)
  • Went 2-1 in match play at SEC Championships
    • Won 5&3 in the quarterfinals and 2&1 in the semifinals over No. 1 Sam Bennet (Texas A&M)
  • Has played in all 10 tournaments and 30 rounds
    • In the No. 1 spot once, No. 2 once and No. 3 eight times 
    • One of three players to play in each tournament and round
*Tied for team-leading 

DI All-Region Southeast Team 

Player School
Garrett Barber LSU
Albin Bergstrom USF
Fred Biondi Florida
Dan Bradbury Florida State
J.M. Butler Auburn
Ben Carr
Georgia Southern
Ricky Castillo Florida
Canon Claycomb Alabama
Spencer Cross Tennessee
Reid Davenport Vanderbilt
Maxwell Ford Georgia
Nick Gabrelcik North Florida
Ryan Hall South Carolina
Frederik Kjettrup Florida State
Bryce Lewis Tennessee
Yuxin Lin Florida
Harrison Ott Vanderbilt
Trent Phillips Georgia
Gordon Sargent Vanderbilt
Cole Sherwood Vanderbilt
Jackson Suber Ole Miss
Cohen Trolio LSU
Alex Vogelsong Auburn
Jack Wall South Carolina
Mason Williams
Georgia Southern


 
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