The Florida men’s golf team will look to continue its success at the LSU Invitational beginning on Friday, Feb. 26.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida men’s golf team travels to Baton Rouge, La. for its first tournament outside of the Sunshine State this spring. The tournament is set to begin on Friday, Feb. 26 and continue through Sunday, Feb. 28.
Format
This three-day tournament will feature 54 holes of stroke play with one round being held each day. The Gators will tee it up beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET on Friday morning.
Course Information
The tournament is being held at the Par 72, 7,227-yard University Club, home of the LSU Tigers golf teams. Originally created by LSU Alumni Jim Lipe, the course opened in 1998 before it was redesigned by Lipe and PGA Champion David Toms to wind through the wetlands of Baton Rouge in 2010. The University Club has been the site of many tournaments, including the PGA ‘Auberge Pro-Am of Baton Rouge and the 2017 NCAA DI Men’s Golf Championship Regional.
How to Follow:
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The Gators’ Lineup:
No. 1 – Ricky Castillo
No. 2 – Yuxin Lin
No. 3 – Joe Pagdin
No. 4 – Tyler Wilkes
No. 5 – Fred Biondi
Ind. – John DuBois
The Field (via Golfstat Rankings)
No. 6 Illinois
No. 11 Florida
No. 12 Georgia
No. 17 Auburn
No. 19 Vanderbilt
No. 22 Tennessee
No. 28 Alabama
No. 29 LSU
No. 42 Arkansas State
No. 49 Ole Miss
No. 54 Kentucky
No. 71 South Carolina
No. 72 Mississippi State
No. 95 Missouri
No. 111 Louisiana Tech
Tournament History
This is the 13th time that the Florida men’s golf team will travel to Baton Rouge to compete in the LSU Invitational. The Gators have not made the trip since the fall of 1996, when they claimed fourth place.
Florida has claimed the title three times in history at LSU and has finished in the top-5 in nine of the 12 previous appearances.
Last Time Out
Florida defended its home course at the Gators Invitational, claiming the title in back-to-back years after going eight years without a win.
Yuxin Lin shined for Florida, shooting under par in all three rounds and finishing tied for sixth behind an 8-under par performance. The sophomore recorded a career-low round (65) and overall score (202).
Joe Pagdin continued his hot streak, recording the first top-10 finish of his young career (T8). The freshman dominated in the first round, carding a career-low 65. Pagdin didn’t record a score over par the entire tournament.
Ricky Castillo recorded the third highest finish for the Gators lineup behind a stellar final round where he carded seven birdies and only one bogey to post a 6-under 64, one shot short of his career-low. The sophomore concluded the tournament in a tie for 11th, the sixth top-15 finish of his career.
Tyler Wilkes carded an impressive 5-under par 205 through three rounds to tie for 18th place individually, marking his first top-25 finish. The freshman put together the most consistent three rounds of his collegiate career, never finishing the day above par and recording a career-low 67 in a second round that spanned two days.
Fred Biondi rounded out the Gators lineup, finishing 1-over par and tying for 57th.
Florida also had five individuals competing – Carlos Bustos, John DuBois, Manny Girona, Giovanni Manzoni, and Christophe Stutts.
Bustos led the charge for the individual Gators behind a strong second round 67, finishing the tournament at even par and tied for 48th.
Moving On Up
Following the Gators win at home, the Florida men’s golf team jumped four spots in the updated Golfstat rankings despite teams who didn’t play in the fall now being included. Now sitting at the No. 11 spot, the Gators are the highest ranked team in the SEC.
Up Next
Florida will travel to Auburn, Ala. to compete in the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Auburn University and scheduled to run from Monday, March 15 through Wednesday, March 17.
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