Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo dueled it out for medalist honors as Biondi claimed his third collegiate victory.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Florida men’s golf continued its success at the Sea Best Invitational, capturing victory for the sixth time in program history on Tuesday.
Ranked No. 3 in PGA Tour U and a recipient of the Ben Hogan Award Watch List, Fred Biondi won medalist honors in a playoff between teammate Ricky Castillo on 17. Biondi carded a 64 (-6), the lowest round in the tournament, behind a birdie on 18 to force the playoff. After his one bogey of the day, he birdied six of the next 14. The victory marked the third of his collegiate career.
The Gators finished 14-under and won the title for the fourth time under head coach J.C. Deacon by 23 strokes. The final round of 271 (-9) tied for the second lowest round of the year, one away from the season-low set in the season opener. UF repeated as champions for the third consecutive occurrence (2011-12 & 2016-17) as the victory marks the 17th under Deacon and seven in the last three seasons.
Florida had eight players finish in the top-25 with Giovanni Manzoni taking third. He started the day as the solo lead and battled with Castillo for it throughout the day. He posted all three rounds in the 60s with a 69 (-1) today.
Redshirt-freshman Miguel Leal made a strong collegiate debut, tying for 5th. He fired a 68 (-2) in the final 18 to cut five strokes off his round two of 73. He finished 3-under as fellow Class of 2022 signee, Matthew Kress placed right behind him a T9. The two were paired with Manzoni on the final day as they combined to shoot 4-under.
Also tied for 9th was Florida’s second Ben Hogan Award Watch List member, Yuxin Lin. He was one of the sixth Gators to shoot under par today. Rounding out the lineup was John DuBois (T15) and Tyler Wilkes (T18) who both placed in the top-20. Wilkes went eagle on 15 (par-4, 402) for his third of the season and seventh of his career.
Both Ryan Hart (70, +1) and Parker Bell (70, E) finished the outing strong, recording their best rounds.
The Orange and Blue aim to defend its home course at the VyStar Credit Union Gators Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course from Feb. 11-12.
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