Friday, March 17
Tucson, Ariz. / Omni Tucson National
11 a.m. (36 Holes)
Florida Gators
at
N.I.T.
No. 10/12 Gators Resume Spring Schedule at N.I.T.
Thursday, March 16, 2023 | Men's Golf
Eight top-25 teams are set to play this weekend at Omni Tucson.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Friday, March 17 - Saturday, March 18
Location: Tucson, Ariz. - Omni Tucson National
Host: University of Arizona
Course Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,200 yards
Format: 36 holes on Friday and 18 holes on Saturday
Tee Times: 11 a.m. on Friday and TBD on Saturday
Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
After two weeks off, the No. 10/12 Florida men's golf team resumes the spring schedule at the N.I.T. in Arizona starting on Friday at Omni Tucson National.
LINEUP
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Yuxin Lin
No. 3 - Fred Biondi
No. 4 - Giovanni Manzoni
No. 5 - Matthew Kress
Ind. - Ryan Hart
COMPETING TEAMS (Golfstat rankings)
No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 Illinois, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 18 Arizona (host), No. 21 Colorado State, No. 22 Oklahoma State, New Mexico, San Diego, San Diego State, USC, Wyoming
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators are set to make its tournament debut at the N.I.T. this weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
Yuxin Lin became the third straight Gator to win medalist honors, earning his first collegiate win at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The senior finished with a 54-hole score of 203 (-13) to win the tournament and earn an exemption into the PGA's Shrines Children's Open, scheduled for Oct. 12-15 at TPC Summerlin.
In his freshman season, Lin had originally tied for 1st at Southern Highlands with current Korn Ferry Tour member Parker Coody, but fell in a playoff. This time, Lin didn't leave an opportunity for one as he won by three shots among a field of 30 top-100 players. Tied for the solo lead through the first two days, back-to-back birdies at the beginning of the turn (11 and 12) pushed Lin to a three-stroke lead and he never looked back. He shot all three rounds under-par with a final round of 69 (-3). He completed the outing with only three bogeys in 54-holes.
Competing as an individual at the Daytona Beach Spring Invitational, Ryan Hart notched his first collegiate win becoming the fourth Gator to secure medalist honors this spring. Hart set collegiate bests in finish (1), round (68,-4) and tournament score (207, -9). He shot all three rounds under par with two in the 60s (69-68). A bogey-free final round of 70 (-2) guided him to victory by a stroke. The Naples, Florida native recorded 10 birdies and made his first eagle compared to only three bogeys through 54-holes.
The win also marks the 18th under head coach J.C. Deacon and second time at least four golfers won individual titles with the last being in 2016; Sam Horsfield (3) and Alejandro Tosti (1). Since 1977, the program has had 10 seasons of at least four Gators winning medalist honors.
EARLY HARDWARE
Each week of Gators in spring competition, Florida has claimed an SEC Golfer of the Week award with three golfers earning a weekly conference honor for the first time in their career: Week 1 - Fred Biondi & Miguel Leal* (Freshman), Week 2- Ricky Castillo, Week 3 - Yuxin Lin* and Week 4 - Ryan Hart*
*indicates first career
IN THE RANKINGS
The Gators are ranked No. 10 by Golfweek and No. 12 by Golfstat.
Individually, the second spring Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings came out with three in the Orange and Blue ranked for the International team; No. 4 Yuxin Lin, No. 21 Giovanni and No. 25 Quentin Debove.
A SEASON AGO
After a bumpy start early in the fall, the Gators concluded with a top-5 finish at Isleworth which carried momentum into the spring with back-to-back victories to start. The latter included winning the VyStar Gators Invitational for the 28th time and third consecutive en route to Fred Biondi tying the tournament record at 196 (-14) for his first career collegiate title.
The spring featured eight straight top-5 finishes with a runner-up performance at the SEC Championship and advancing to the match play finals for the first time in program history. John DuBois laid claim to the SEC Individual Championship for his first collegiate victory.
Florida secured its 32nd NCAA Regional bid and took a third place finish to advance its 55th appearance in the National Championships. On day three of stroke play, the Gators used late birdies on the back nine to make the first cut. UF concluded the season with a 10th place finish and only seven strokes from making match play. The finish marked the highest under head coach J.C. Deacon and best since a 9th place performance in 2007.
TOUR U
Following a breakout season, Fred Biondi earned the No. 1 ranking in the preseason PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Class of 2023 Rankings as a total of four Gators placed in the top-25. The next three Florida golfers were ranked in consecutive order with Ricky Castillo (No. 19), John DuBois (No. 20) and Yuxin Lin (No. 21) as the four selections were the most of any school as both North Carolina and Pepperdine had three.
Currently, Biondi holds the No. 5 spot with Lin climbing eight spots over the last two weeks to No. 10 while Castillo jumped two places to No. 14 with DuBois at No. 33.
WATCH LIST
Heading into the spring, Yuxin Lin and Fred Biondi were selected to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List, presented annually to the top collegiate men's golfer. Lin collected another nod being named to the Spring Haskins Award Watch List.
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.
ROOKIE GATORS
Florida welcomed four newcomers this season in Parker Bell (Tallahassee, Fla.), Toby Bishop (Wales, United Kingdom), Will McGriff (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) and Luke Poulter (Orlando, Fla.).
GATOR GREAT COACHES
Last 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 last 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 280 professional outings.
THE TURN
The Orange and Blue finish the regular season at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational (April 1-2) then begin play at the SEC Championship on April 19 at Sea Island.
Dates: Friday, March 17 - Saturday, March 18
Location: Tucson, Ariz. - Omni Tucson National
Host: University of Arizona
Course Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,200 yards
Format: 36 holes on Friday and 18 holes on Saturday
Tee Times: 11 a.m. on Friday and TBD on Saturday
Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
After two weeks off, the No. 10/12 Florida men's golf team resumes the spring schedule at the N.I.T. in Arizona starting on Friday at Omni Tucson National.
LINEUP
No. 1 - Ricky Castillo
No. 2 - Yuxin Lin
No. 3 - Fred Biondi
No. 4 - Giovanni Manzoni
No. 5 - Matthew Kress
Ind. - Ryan Hart
COMPETING TEAMS (Golfstat rankings)
No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 Illinois, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 18 Arizona (host), No. 21 Colorado State, No. 22 Oklahoma State, New Mexico, San Diego, San Diego State, USC, Wyoming
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators are set to make its tournament debut at the N.I.T. this weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
Yuxin Lin became the third straight Gator to win medalist honors, earning his first collegiate win at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The senior finished with a 54-hole score of 203 (-13) to win the tournament and earn an exemption into the PGA's Shrines Children's Open, scheduled for Oct. 12-15 at TPC Summerlin.
In his freshman season, Lin had originally tied for 1st at Southern Highlands with current Korn Ferry Tour member Parker Coody, but fell in a playoff. This time, Lin didn't leave an opportunity for one as he won by three shots among a field of 30 top-100 players. Tied for the solo lead through the first two days, back-to-back birdies at the beginning of the turn (11 and 12) pushed Lin to a three-stroke lead and he never looked back. He shot all three rounds under-par with a final round of 69 (-3). He completed the outing with only three bogeys in 54-holes.
Competing as an individual at the Daytona Beach Spring Invitational, Ryan Hart notched his first collegiate win becoming the fourth Gator to secure medalist honors this spring. Hart set collegiate bests in finish (1), round (68,-4) and tournament score (207, -9). He shot all three rounds under par with two in the 60s (69-68). A bogey-free final round of 70 (-2) guided him to victory by a stroke. The Naples, Florida native recorded 10 birdies and made his first eagle compared to only three bogeys through 54-holes.
The win also marks the 18th under head coach J.C. Deacon and second time at least four golfers won individual titles with the last being in 2016; Sam Horsfield (3) and Alejandro Tosti (1). Since 1977, the program has had 10 seasons of at least four Gators winning medalist honors.
EARLY HARDWARE
Each week of Gators in spring competition, Florida has claimed an SEC Golfer of the Week award with three golfers earning a weekly conference honor for the first time in their career: Week 1 - Fred Biondi & Miguel Leal* (Freshman), Week 2- Ricky Castillo, Week 3 - Yuxin Lin* and Week 4 - Ryan Hart*
*indicates first career
IN THE RANKINGS
The Gators are ranked No. 10 by Golfweek and No. 12 by Golfstat.
Individually, the second spring Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings came out with three in the Orange and Blue ranked for the International team; No. 4 Yuxin Lin, No. 21 Giovanni and No. 25 Quentin Debove.
A SEASON AGO
After a bumpy start early in the fall, the Gators concluded with a top-5 finish at Isleworth which carried momentum into the spring with back-to-back victories to start. The latter included winning the VyStar Gators Invitational for the 28th time and third consecutive en route to Fred Biondi tying the tournament record at 196 (-14) for his first career collegiate title.
The spring featured eight straight top-5 finishes with a runner-up performance at the SEC Championship and advancing to the match play finals for the first time in program history. John DuBois laid claim to the SEC Individual Championship for his first collegiate victory.
Florida secured its 32nd NCAA Regional bid and took a third place finish to advance its 55th appearance in the National Championships. On day three of stroke play, the Gators used late birdies on the back nine to make the first cut. UF concluded the season with a 10th place finish and only seven strokes from making match play. The finish marked the highest under head coach J.C. Deacon and best since a 9th place performance in 2007.
TOUR U
Following a breakout season, Fred Biondi earned the No. 1 ranking in the preseason PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Class of 2023 Rankings as a total of four Gators placed in the top-25. The next three Florida golfers were ranked in consecutive order with Ricky Castillo (No. 19), John DuBois (No. 20) and Yuxin Lin (No. 21) as the four selections were the most of any school as both North Carolina and Pepperdine had three.
Currently, Biondi holds the No. 5 spot with Lin climbing eight spots over the last two weeks to No. 10 while Castillo jumped two places to No. 14 with DuBois at No. 33.
WATCH LIST
Heading into the spring, Yuxin Lin and Fred Biondi were selected to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List, presented annually to the top collegiate men's golfer. Lin collected another nod being named to the Spring Haskins Award Watch List.
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.
ROOKIE GATORS
Florida welcomed four newcomers this season in Parker Bell (Tallahassee, Fla.), Toby Bishop (Wales, United Kingdom), Will McGriff (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) and Luke Poulter (Orlando, Fla.).
GATOR GREAT COACHES
Last 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 last 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 280 professional outings.
THE TURN
The Orange and Blue finish the regular season at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational (April 1-2) then begin play at the SEC Championship on April 19 at Sea Island.
Players Mentioned
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