Gators Win Sea Best Invitational to Begin Spring Season

Florida combined to shoot 4-under on the final day to win the event for the fifth time in program history.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Gators trailed by three strokes to enter the final day of the Sea Best Invitational on Tuesday and went 4-under in the final round to win the tournament.

Florida claimed the spring opening tournament for the fifth time in program history and third time under head coach J.C. Deacon.

Leading the charge were Ricky Castillo and John DuBois with each a 67 (-3) in the final round. A native of Yorba Linda, Calif., Castillo began the day with four birdies through the first seven holes, including one later on the 14th to give the Gators a one-stroke lead. DuBois (-1) finished tied for runner-up marking his best collegiate finish, which was previously T15 at the LSU Invitational last year.

Yuxin Lin recorded a hole-in-one on the 14th to notch his second of the season after sinking one at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational in the fall opener. The ace was followed by four birdies from Castillo (2), Dubois (1) and Fred Biondi (1) on the back nine to push the Gators to its largest lead of nine strokes and hold off Liberty who ended six strokes back in second.

Individually, Tyler Wilkes earned his best collegiate finish at T10 to tie for the top individual spot with Quentin Debove two strokes behind at T21. Ryan Hart (T50) made his collegiate debut and shot 2-under on the front.

The Orange and Blue host the 45th annual VyStar Gators Invitational from Feb. 12-13 and aim to win the event for the third-straight year and 28th time.

Quotable
Head Coach J.C. Deacon…

On the victory…
“This win started on October 20th, the day our fall season ended. Coach Dudley Hart and I challenged the boys to have their best off-season ever and today is a byproduct of that. We did some things differently and did them at a very high level.
I am pleased the guys got some results to match the work they have put in. That’s not always the case in sports. Success is never guaranteed, but today was an awesome round and a great victory.”
“This win is a wonderful start to the spring and a sign that our vision for the program is on the right track. We’ve got a lot to improve and I know everyone is excited to get back at in 10 days at the VyStar Gators invitational, our one and only home tournament of the year.”
On performances by Ricky Castillo and John DuBois…
“These guys are so important to this team. They’re juniors now and understand exactly what is expected. They have spent a ton of time together working on their games this off-season. For both of them to top-5 this week is really special. I’m so happy for two great Florida Gators.”

Scores
Florida Individual
Place

Player

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Score

John DuBois<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14520&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=-9_bKKHG0ZEqNW5B4lBjFPD1TGGM4u6xflhQ2wbyhSDyg3_V4uHYdN4gjFcIQ4ng&s=0oYMs9UKe4YQKyrDZ9QM1WuV1R8BObn5L-JP2cug8nY&e= >

209 (-1)

Ricky Castillo<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14518&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=-9_bKKHG0ZEqNW5B4lBjFPD1TGGM4u6xflhQ2wbyhSDyg3_V4uHYdN4gjFcIQ4ng&s=OY10fhISqbZCKT4bMwfwuZZEoNsti1OQcnJr6aK8mKU&e= >

211 (+1)

T10

Tyler Wilkes<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14528&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=-9_bKKHG0ZEqNW5B4lBjFPD1TGGM4u6xflhQ2wbyhSDyg3_V4uHYdN4gjFcIQ4ng&s=NWyQ5AIVSQvF7000V-T4oOq4do8hl5mdRObLWh6H6Fo&e= >*