Freshman Joe Pagdin recorded his third top-10 finish of the spring.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The University of Florida men’s golf team finished stroke play at the SEC Championship today, recording a 5-over par final round to finish 20-over and narrowly missing the top-eight cut.
The Gators finished tied for ninth alongside Auburn.
Freshman Joe Pagdin strung together three stellar rounds and finished the stroke play event tied for seventh place, his third top-10 finish of the spring. Pagdin’s worse round came on Thursday where he fell to what ended up being the lowest he would drop on the leaderboard – tied for ninth. Coming off of his greatest finish to date in the Calusa Cup, where he turned in a top-five finish, the England native carried his momentum straight into the SEC Championship and provided a strong round for the Gators in all three days of play.
Ricky Castillo turned in the next-best overall performance, finishing the tournament 3-over par and tied for 12th individually. The sophomore turned in by far the most consistent scorecard of the day, recording 17 pars and only one bogey to finish the round 1-over. This marks his third top-15 finish of the spring.
Tyler Wilkes carded the best individual performance of the day, giving the Gators a glimpse of hope as the round came down to the wire by posting a 1-under par score. The freshman finished tied for 33rd.
Yuxin Lin and Fred Biondi rounded out the Gators lineup, finishing 14-overall and tied for 59th.
Head Coach JC Deacon’s Take
On the results…
“As a team, we just didn’t have it this week. We gave away too many shots. It started on the final hole of our first round and continued again at the end today. To win tournaments, you have to be able to finish and we just didn’t do it.”
On Ricky Castillo and Joe Pagdin…
“I feel terrible for Joe and Ricky, who love this team so much. They put their heart and soul into performing for the Florida Gators. They both had solid weeks. We just couldn’t support them like we needed to.”
On what’s next…
“Fortunately, our season isn’t over. We’ve got a couple weeks to get ready for NCAA Regionals. Ricky and Joe both travel to the Walker Cup in the upcoming weeks for a great event and I will have some tough decisions to fill out the rest of the lineup.”
Hear from Freshman Joe Pagdin
On his top-10 finish…
“Finishing in the top-10 was a very good achievement. I’ve put a lot of hard work into my game and into my mindset the past couple of months and I’m starting to see great results. Coming off of a top-five finish a week and a half ago at the Calusa Cup and having a chance to win, then being somewhat in contention again this week and finishing seventh really reflects the hard work I’ve been putting in. The spring season has been pretty good for me with three top-10 (finishes) and I’m ready for regionals where I want to give it my all for the team and hopefully put myself in contention again to win.”
On the team result…
“It was very disappointing that we didn’t make match play since we’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and preparation. Our team is more than capable of doing great things as we are one of the highest ranked teams with players with amazing ability and great determination… I’m ready for the next few weeks of hard work and can’t wait to get back on the road with the guys at regionals.”
Team Leaderboard
Position
Team
R1
R2
R3
Total
1
Alabama
284
277
561 (+1)
2
Arkansas
278
286
564 (+4)
T3
Georgia
275
290
565 (+5)
T3
LSU
281
284
565 (+5)
5
Auburn
282
285
567 (+7)
T6
Tennessee
277
292
569 (+9)
T6
Vanderbilt
281
288
569 (+9)
8
South Carolina
285
286
571 (+11)
T9
Florida
286
289
575 (+15)
T9
Kentucky
288
287
575 (+15)
11
Missouri
286
291
577 (+17)
12
Texas A&M
286
293
579 (+19)
13
Mississippi State
291
304
595 (+35)
14
Ole Miss
299
298
597 (+37)
Player Leaderboard
Position
Name
R1
R2
R3
Total
T7
Joe Pagdin
68
72
71
211 (+1)
T12
Ricky Castillo
72
70
71
213 (+3)
T33
Tyler Wilkes
73
75
69
217 (+7)
T59
Yuxin Lin
73
75
76
224 (+14)
T59
Fred Biondi
78
72
76
224 (+14)
Up Next: The Gators will begin preparations for the NCAA Regional Championships with the field and locations set to be announced live on the Golf Channel at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 5.
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