John DuBois couldn’t have asked for a better way to win his first collegiate title as the Gators finished 3rd in the final round of stroke play to advance to the quarterfinals.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Searching for his first collegiate title, John DuBois couldn’t have asked for a better stage to do it on as he claimed the 2022 SEC Championship Individual Title on Friday.
Florida (-12) finished third to advance to the quarterfinals tomorrow as Texas A&M (-13) took second and Vanderbilt (-16) first.
After tying third all-time for lowest round (64, -6) in conference history, the junior entered the final day two strokes back from leader Phichaksn Maichaon (Texas A&M) and tied with eventual runner-up Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt). Paired together with Sargent, the duo battled all day for the lead.
DuBois began the final round of stroke play with back-to-back birdies as he finished second among the field with 14. Sargent pushed out to a one stroke lead as both him and DuBois recorded a bogey on nine to make the turn. The No. 13 ranked player, Sargent, took the lead back with a birdie on 11, but DuBois responded. He smacked a great tee shot on 12 (223 yards) to set up a short birdie putt to tie the battle at 6-under.
The duo each had a par on 13 and Sargent jumped back ahead as DuBois shot one over on 14. Coming down to the wire, DuBois took advantage of a bogey from Sargent on 16 and sank a birdie to go up a stroke. On 18, DuBois landed 40 feet from the pin on his approach shot and successfully two putted and sank the five-footer to claim the hardware.
DuBois becomes the 23rd Gator in program history to win the title along with names such as Tommy Aaron, Steve Melnyk, Brian Gay, Camilo Benedetti, and Billy Horschel. It marks the third UF golfer to win in the last five tournaments and third under head coach J.C. Deacon. – Alejandro Tosti (2017) and Andy Zheng (2018).
Unranked by Golfstat, DuBois won the event over the 1, 2, 8, 12, 13 and 17 ranked players in the country. He concluded the stroke play portion of the tournament setting career lows in round (64), tournament score (204) and best finish (1).
Posting his second round of 68 (-2) of the postseason, Ricky Castillo finished T5 at 3-under. His birdie on two moved Florida in a tie with Vandy at the time. He ended third among the field with 12 overall birdies for his career best finish at the SEC Championship.
Improving each round (73-70-69), Tyler Wilkes was the first Gator to finish the final round with a 1-under 69 performance. The sophomore leaped 16 spots on the final day to finish T25 at his second postseason stint.
Also tied for 25th, Fred Biondi shot a 73 (+3) marking only his second-round over-par this spring. A few strokes ahead, Yuxin Lin wrapped up tied for 15th after a final round of 72 (+2). He went 1-under for 54 holes in his team-leading fifth tournament under-par.
The No. 3 Gators will face No. 6 Georgia tomorrow at 8:20 a.m. ET. Florida is 2-2 all-time in the match play portion as it was added in 2017. The winner will advnace to the semifinals and take on the winner of No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 7 Tennessee.
Quotable
Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On John DuBois winning…
“I am so proud. Coach Dudley (Hart) and I were pretty emotional watching him (John DuBois) win the tournament because he is the definition of a student-athlete. He does an unbelievable job in school and we are so happy for him. He is a great teammate, great friend and hard worker. He has been through some tough times so for him to get his first win at the 2022 SEC Championship is a dream come true for all of us.”
On winning against a competitive field…
“The Southeastern Conference is the best conference in men’s golf, there is no doubt about that. John winning this tournament is incredible. He has always been capable of it. You look at his golf swing and there are very few as good as his. He spent a lot of time working on his short game with coach Hart and just continued to develop in all areas of his game.
On overcoming the fall and getting to this point…
“I think the fall was the best thing that could have ever happened to this team. It was very humbling. We’ve worked harder than I have ever seen a team or been a part of one all winter long. We didn’t take our foot off the gas and its paying off now. This work started back in October and its paying off for the guys at the right time. For John to win today and us play so solid, and be in this match play with a chance to win the golf tournament is awesome and certainly worth it.”
John DuBois
On the victory and day…
“It was an unbelievable day. I am honestly not remembering too much from it. Gordon (Sargnet) and I were battling out all day. I wasn’t sure if I was ahead or behind, obviously there were a ton of guys tied in second and even third just a stroke behind us. I stuck with my process all day and got some good news on the 18th hole”
Following up the historic round yesterday…
“The best way to describe it was that I was kind of unconscious out there. Just focusing on my pre-shot routine and hitting the ball on my post shot routine. Accepting where the ball went every single time. I didn’t hit every shot exactly how I wanted, but I hit some great shots and made some great putts.”
On winning against some of the top players in the country…
“It’s pretty special. This is the toughest field we play all year. Everyone wants their name on the SEC trophy. Knowing all these good players are there, I know in my mind that I can compete with them and I have before. I go against some of the best players in the country on our team with Yuxin Lin, Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo. All these guys are talented golfers and we challenge ourselves every day. It was a little different since it’s a big stage and the nerves are up, but we have done a lot of preparation to be ready for a day like today.”
On family being there…
“It’s special having them (family) here. Being able to give my family and girlfriend a big hug after I play today and share some friendly words is awesome. I am so glad they were able to make it. To close it out today and have them on the 18th hole is a great feeling.”
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