UF MGOLF | Final Round Comeback Sends Gators Grayhawk Bound

Florida erased a seven-shot deficit behind an 8-under final round to secure a spot at the National Championship.

BATH, Mich. – The Florida men’s golf team erased a seven-shot deficit behind an 8-under final round to finish 4th, advancing to the National Championship at Grayhawk on Wednesday.

The Gators chased a top-5 spot of the championship cut the first two days and entered the final round seven back from host Michigan State. When Florida teed off 25 minutes after the Spartans, the chase was now nine strokes. At the end of 54-holes, Florida finished 4th at -12 and a five-shot cushion.

A trio of rounds in the 60s from Yuxin Lin (66, -5) Ricky Castillo (69, -2) and John DuBois (69, -2) led UF to the best round among the field today by five shots with a 276 (-8).

Florida made its climb with early birdies from Castillo and Lin, who both finished T11. The Gators jumped above the cut line and were -5 on the day thru holes 3-6. Lin led the lineup in a 3-under front nine with three birdies in the first hour holes. The advantage increased as UF posted four total birdies on hole four (par-5, 591).

The drama of the final day and the ‘red line’ that is featured on Golfstat, showing the top-5 teams advancing, took place as Florida made the turn with a one-shot lead in 5th over Kansas State. The Wildcats started the day tied for 6th with the Gators heading to the front after starting on the back. Scores showed the back was challenging in round three at Eagle Eye Club with all six teams to start there not breaking par and shooting an average of +4.5. Compared to three of the six going under par on the front nine, led by Illinois (-5), Florida (-3) and Liberty (-3).

Immediately at the turn, K-State started to push back ahead and Florida dropped to 7th, four shots out of contention.

A string of birdies moved UF back up the leaderboard beginning with a pair from Castillo and Matthew Kress. It was another postseason moment for John DuBois, who made a birdie on 14 to tie it and went bogey-free on the back to card a 69 (-2). A massive birdie on 17 saw him make a seven-shot improvement from yesterday. He fought all the way back after two bogeys in the first three holes to place T35.

As the season was on the line, Kansas State and Florida continued to battle for the advancing spot, both remaining tied throughout the latter part of the final round.

It was the upperclassmen the led the final push from Castillo and Lin combing for -4 on holes 12-16. Lin’s three consecutive birdies on 14-16 (two par-4s and a par-5) gave the Gators a four-shot lead. Kansas State brought it back to two shots with three late birdies in their final few holes, but the Gators held on closing out -2 in the last eight counting holes (17-18).

Fred Biondi also tied for 11th with his fellow seniors. Finishing -4 for the week and turning in a final round of 72 (+1) after he battled back from three bogeys in a four-hole stretch.

Florida advances to its 56th NCAA Championship appearance, ranking fifth most in the country. The Gators have advanced out of regionals five times under head coach J.C. Deacon and the last two years. Last season UF finished 10th, the highest under Deacon and best since a 9th-place performance in 2007.

The rally wasn’t the first time under Deacon. In 2021, Florida started the day six shots back in 8th and Castillo’s 75-foot birdie putt at the Cle Elum Washington Regional secured a ticket to the National Championship.

Action from Grayhawk will start on May 26th in Scottsdale, Arizona. Tee times for round one will be determined based on Golfstat’s final rankings following regional play. The Gators are currently tabbed No. 10.

Quotable
Head Coach J.C. Deacon

On the fight today…
“Very proud of our guys today for sure, but not surprised. This team has been stepping up to the occasion. Time after time. You know we got our got ourselves in a tough spot after two rounds, but to be honest I never really doubted that they were going to find a way to get it done.
I am excited for the guys to have an opportunity to compete for a national championship.”

On the message to the team entering the final round…
“I just reminded them that two years ago we were in a very similar situation in Washington. Ricky (Castillo) and Yuxin (Lin) were a part of that team that made it through. I reminded them that we had done this before. The biggest thing was we didn’t have to do anything special today. We just needed to go and play well because there was a lot of pressure on Michigan State, Texas and Oregon. You never know what’s going to happen in the final round of regionals and we’ve had a lot of experiences in the past. You just have to see if everyone else can handle the moment as well as you do. Fortunately today, we handled it better than anyone else winning the day by five shots.

On Yuxin Lin’s performance today…
The season was on the line, and we needed a big round from someone. This is the type of player he is when is locked in and focused. This is exactly what we expect out of him. The guys have kind of been carrying him the last few rounds so it was about time for him to step up. His teammates deserved that. I am happy for him to give his teammates a chance at a national title.”

On John DuBois in the clutch…
“He centrally has a clutch gene. There is no doubt about that. The most impressive thing about him today was how poor a start was. He is two over through three when were seven shots back starting the day. That couldn’t have felt very well, but he rallied and hung in there. That birdie made on 17 was just absolutely massive for us. He believes in himself, and he seems to find a way to come up big every time we need them.”

Florida Individual Scores
Place

Name

Rd. 1

Rd. 2

Rd. 3

Score

T11

Fred Biondi<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/fred-biondi/15418> (1)

209 (-4)

T11

Ricky Castillo<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/ricky-castillo/15419> (2)

209 (-4)