Monday, May 15
Bath, Mich. / Eagle Eye Golf Club
8 a.m. (18 Holes)
Florida Gators
at
NCAA Regionals
Ricky Castillo earned his third straight Second Team All-SEC honor prior to NCAA Regional starting on Monday at Eagle Eye Golf Club.
No. 2 Florida Set for NCAA Regionals
Saturday, May 13, 2023 | Men's Golf
The Gators tee off at Eagle Eye Golf Club on Monday at 8 a.m.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Monday, May 15 - Wednesday, May 17
Location: Bath, Mich. - Eagle Eye Golf Club
Host: Michigan State University
Course Par/Yardage: 71 / 7,090 yards
Format: 54-hole stroke play (18 each day)
Tee Times: 8 a.m. on Monday and TBA other days
Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Line Up
No. 1 - Fred Biondi
No. 2 - Ricky Castillo
No. 3 - Yuxin Lin
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Matthew Kress
Alternate - Ryan Hart
TEE OFF
Entering the NCAA Regionals as the No. 2 seed for the second straight season, the Gators being play on Monday at Eagle Eye Golf Club
FORMAT
The three-day event will consist of 54 holes (18 each day) and at the conclusion of play, the top five teams as well as the top individual finisher not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., from May 26-31.
A total of 81 teams and 45 individuals (not on a competing team) will play across six regional hosts - Auburn, Clemson, Michigan State, Oklahoma, San Jose State and UNLV. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals.
COMPETING TEAMS (Seed #)
No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Kansas State, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Liberty, No. 8 San Diego, No. 9 Little Rock, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Illinois State and No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators have qualified for 33 of the 34 all-time men's golf regionals and each year under head coach J.C. Deacon as Florida won the inaugural East Regional (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) in 1989. UF has claimed a total of six team titles (1989, 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2018) and six individual titles - Brain Gay (1993), Brad Lehmann (1994), Camilo Villegas (2001), Billy Horschel (2006 & 2007) and Andy Zhang (2018).
Florida has advanced out of regionals five times under Deacon and the last two years, only not qualifying for nationals twice. Out of 33 appearances, the Gators have only missed securing a spot at the National Championship five times.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gators claimed its first SEC title in 12 years and the first under head coach J.C. Deacon. It was a rematch in the match play finals vs. Vanderbilt in back-to-back seasons with the Gators defeating the No. 1 team in the country, 3-1-1
CONFERENCE HARDWARE
Florida claimed six conference awards, highlighted by J.C. Deacon being named SEC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. Other honors included Yuixn Lin First Team and Community Service Team, Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo Second Team and Matthew Kress on the Freshman Team.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Gators are ranked No. 7 by Golfweek and No. 10 by Golfstat.
Individually, the highest ranked Gator is Yuxin Lin at No. 12 by Golfweek and No. 19 in Golfstat. The projected lineup for regionals are all ranked in the top 150 by both ranking systems.
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. 2 spot with Lin climbing to No. 10 and Ricky Castillo No. 11. Recently, the PGA Tour announced enhanced benefits.
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.
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.
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 three newcomers this season in Parker Bell (Tallahassee, Fla.), Toby Bishop (Wales, United Kingdom) 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
Florida aims to reach its 56th NCAA Championship appearance at Grayhawk the following weekend. Action gets underway on May 26 with the first round of stroke play.
Dates: Monday, May 15 - Wednesday, May 17
Location: Bath, Mich. - Eagle Eye Golf Club
Host: Michigan State University
Course Par/Yardage: 71 / 7,090 yards
Format: 54-hole stroke play (18 each day)
Tee Times: 8 a.m. on Monday and TBA other days
Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Line Up
No. 1 - Fred Biondi
No. 2 - Ricky Castillo
No. 3 - Yuxin Lin
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Matthew Kress
Alternate - Ryan Hart
TEE OFF
Entering the NCAA Regionals as the No. 2 seed for the second straight season, the Gators being play on Monday at Eagle Eye Golf Club
FORMAT
The three-day event will consist of 54 holes (18 each day) and at the conclusion of play, the top five teams as well as the top individual finisher not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., from May 26-31.
A total of 81 teams and 45 individuals (not on a competing team) will play across six regional hosts - Auburn, Clemson, Michigan State, Oklahoma, San Jose State and UNLV. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals.
COMPETING TEAMS (Seed #)
No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Kansas State, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Liberty, No. 8 San Diego, No. 9 Little Rock, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Illinois State and No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators have qualified for 33 of the 34 all-time men's golf regionals and each year under head coach J.C. Deacon as Florida won the inaugural East Regional (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) in 1989. UF has claimed a total of six team titles (1989, 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2018) and six individual titles - Brain Gay (1993), Brad Lehmann (1994), Camilo Villegas (2001), Billy Horschel (2006 & 2007) and Andy Zhang (2018).
Florida has advanced out of regionals five times under Deacon and the last two years, only not qualifying for nationals twice. Out of 33 appearances, the Gators have only missed securing a spot at the National Championship five times.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gators claimed its first SEC title in 12 years and the first under head coach J.C. Deacon. It was a rematch in the match play finals vs. Vanderbilt in back-to-back seasons with the Gators defeating the No. 1 team in the country, 3-1-1
CONFERENCE HARDWARE
Florida claimed six conference awards, highlighted by J.C. Deacon being named SEC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. Other honors included Yuixn Lin First Team and Community Service Team, Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo Second Team and Matthew Kress on the Freshman Team.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Gators are ranked No. 7 by Golfweek and No. 10 by Golfstat.
Individually, the highest ranked Gator is Yuxin Lin at No. 12 by Golfweek and No. 19 in Golfstat. The projected lineup for regionals are all ranked in the top 150 by both ranking systems.
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. 2 spot with Lin climbing to No. 10 and Ricky Castillo No. 11. Recently, the PGA Tour announced enhanced benefits.
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.
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.
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 three newcomers this season in Parker Bell (Tallahassee, Fla.), Toby Bishop (Wales, United Kingdom) 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
Florida aims to reach its 56th NCAA Championship appearance at Grayhawk the following weekend. Action gets underway on May 26 with the first round of stroke play.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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