The sophomore sits on the 10-man roster for the United States, while Joe Pagdin claims the second reserve spot on the Great Britain and Ireland team.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore phenom Ricky Castillo, a member of the 10-man United States roster, will gear up to face the Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) team in the 2021 Walker Cup, beginning Saturday, May 8 at the Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach.
Castillo has posted five top-25 finishes during his sophomore campaign. As a freshman, Castillo was named the 2020 SEC Freshman of the Year while also earning the NCAA DI Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award. He held the lowest scoring average in program history (70.08) and finished inside the top-25 in every event. Moreso, Castillo joined Matt Every as the only Gators to be named a Ben Hogan Award finalist.
During the 2020-21 season, Castillo turned in his best finish at the Timuquana Collegiate where he carded a 6-under par 210 to tie for eighth place. The sophomore leads the team with a 71.38 stroke average.
Freshman Joe Pagdin will also be on-site in Juno Beach after receiving the news that he had been selected as the second reserve for the GB&I side of play. The Sheffield, England native will step up in the case of an injury or sickness to the 10-man international roster, touting impressive experience after previously representing GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy and England in the R&A Boys’ Home Internationals and the European Boys Amateur Team Championship.
Established in 1922, the Walker Cup is a biennial tournament that pits ten male amateurs from the United States against a squad from Great Britain and Ireland. The USGA is responsible for the United States selections, while the R&A chooses the Great Britain and Ireland side. The two competition days feature alternating-shot foursomes in the morning followed by singles matches in the afternoon.
On Saturday, May 8 there will be eight singles matches while Sunday, May 9 will feature all 10 players from both sides. One point is awarded for each victory and a half-point is assessed for matches that are square at the conclusion of 18 holes. The United States holds a 37-9-1 lead over Great Britain and Ireland after rallying back in last year’s contest to claim its first victory on foreign soil since the 2007 Match at Royal County Down.
NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, and the Golf Channel will collaborate to bring full coverage of the two-day event. A full broadcast schedule can be found here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.walkercup.org_content_usga_home-2Dpage_championships_2021_2021-2Dwalker-2Dcup-2D-2Dhome_articles_2021-2Dwalker-2Dcup-2Dbroadcast-2Dschedule.html&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=ey_eGeMlN-904Hb0pGhc4qlQzcatZKLuQ7WozvhM_Dk&s=thx6H0SyqzOaD_w07rzSX70tuKlLNPMOFbkzdSXdmeQ&e= >. Saturday foursomes will begin at 10 a.m. ET.
Castillo and Pagdin join former Gators golfer Billy Horschel in the history books for this accomplishment. Horschel was a member of the 2007 Walker Cup team that featured Dustin Johnson and Webb Simpson, among others.
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