UF MGOLF: Gators Battle Commodores, Fall 3-2 in SEC Championship Finals

The match came down to the final match on the course as Florida will find out its regional selection on May 4.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The Florida men’s golf team battled the defending SEC champion and No. 1 seed Vanderbilt Commodores in the championship finals all day at Sea Island Golf Club, but ultimately fell 3-2 on Sunday.

The Gators advanced to the match play finals for the first time since the format was added in 2017. UF knocked off No. 6 Georgia (3-1-1) in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Texas A&M (3-1-1) in the semifinals along with John DuBois winning the individual title. Florida finishes runner-up for the 13th time in program history and first since 2010.

DuBois and William Moll kicked off the match with both long birdies putts that just came up short. That would be an early display of the match.

Nearing sinking an ace on 16, Tyler Wilkes started his round with a win to go 1-up. He trailed by as many as three heading into the 8th hole. He chipped away and tied the matchup with back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 to put Florida ahead 2-1-2.

Florida had to play catch up however, as the back-to-back conference champions led 4-1 at the turn.

Vandy jumped out to a 2-0 advantage as both DuBois (1-down) and Wilkes (2-down) were edged on the 18th hole. DuBois was down by three into the 14th and brought it down to one.

Ricky Castillo and Fred Biondi added to the intensity of the match with 2&1 victories. Castillo didn’t lose a hole until the 10th and had five birdies through his first six holes. Biondi was 1-down through 10 and then recorded four straight wins to jump ahead 3-up on 14.

The clinching point came down to match between Yuxin Lin and Cole Sherwood. The duo went neck and neck to start, each owing a 1-up lead in the first six holes. A win to start the turn from Lin tied it, but Sherwood went on to win the next three of five holes and a par on 16 clinched the second straight title for Vanderbilt.

Florida will await its NCAA Regional (May 16-18) destination on May 4 with the selection show airing on Golf Channel at 4 p.m.

Scores
Player

Opponent

Score

John DuBois <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_sports_mens-2Dgolf_roster_john-2Ddubois_14520&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=fZ8a-JihmiHnycAO5v7vgbbryR0NtD-UGZvvPZe9KWB6_bGaerXsmmmTZF9DFcwE&s=JJSvNmjqybux5N95gCHBK2Upgx6nJ_q5q4MUJ1GUt4g&e= >

William Moll

1 Up – Vanderbilt

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=fZ8a-JihmiHnycAO5v7vgbbryR0NtD-UGZvvPZe9KWB6_bGaerXsmmmTZF9DFcwE&s=cemM0lt1g_eZnOEQmumTBXxignS43Bqxfi8OioLIWiA&e= >

Reid Davenport

2 Up – Vanderbilt

Fred Biondi<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14517&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=fZ8a-JihmiHnycAO5v7vgbbryR0NtD-UGZvvPZe9KWB6_bGaerXsmmmTZF9DFcwE&s=y2jTntEg2oAeLB1EP9B3JAAd7GgR_zcOiPT1a8vP51U&e= >

Harrison Ott