Florida will advance to the final round of stroke play tomorrow in back-to-back seasons.
NOTE: Round three is still underway. Final standings will be updated on Floridagators.com*
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Florida men’s golf team turned in its second straight round of 278 (-2) in round three of the National Championships to sit in third for the final round of stroke play tomorrow.
The Gators are set to advance to the fourth round of stroke play for the fifth time in program history and third under head coach J.C. Deacon. It marks the second consecutive season reaching the final 18 as the match play format was added in 2009.
Florida’s back-to-back rounds of under par is the first since rounds one and two during the 2006 NCAA Championships when UF finished runner-up. The score of 278 (-2) ties the program record by score and par at Grayhawk, which was set yesterday.
Monday will feature the final round of stroke play as the top-8 teams advance to match play. The Gators are seeking its first-ever appearance in the match play portion, which was added in 2009.
All four of the counting scores were even or under par for the Orange and Blue. The non-counting round was only a 72 (+2) by Yuxin Lin. The efforts were led by John DuBois and Fred Biondi shooting rounds of 1-under 69. The duo has shot even or under all three rounds, including Biondi with all under – 69, 68 and 69 – and is one of two players in the field along with leader Ross Steelman (Georgia Tech) with all three in the 60s.
Recording his fourth round in the 60s all-time at Grayahwk, Biondi enters five strokes back tomorrow in the hunt for the NCAA Championship Individual Title. He looks to become the third Gator to win the individual title, joining Bob Murphy (1996) and Nick Gilliam (2001).
After a bogey-free round yesterday, he didn’t shoot one until his 36th hole over the last three rounds on 15. Biondi holed out for birdie in the bunker from 40 yards out on par-4 seventh, ranked the hardest hole on the weekend.
DuBois went 2-under on the front and was -3 through the first 10 holes with birdies at the end and start of the turn on 9 & 10. He is 1-under through 54 holes and tied with Ricky Castillo.
One of two rounds of even par 70, Castillo was steady in the morning with only one bogey to his name, coming in his final hole and only his sixth in three rounds. In his last 10 rounds, eight of them have been even or under par.
Battling back and making a six-shot improvement, Matthew Kress carded the second 70 (E). He started things off with the first birdie for Florida on five and knocked another on six. The All-SEC Freshman Team selection, bounced back from four bogeys in a six hole stretch with four pars and back-to-back birdies on 16 & 17
Florida tees off tomorrow at 2:50 p.m. ET with final round coverage beginning on Golf Channel at 5 p.m. ET.
Head Coach J.C. Deacon…
Q: Can you just assess how the guys have played this course so far?
“The last two days we have played really well. Anything in the red from a team on days like this in these conditions is great. We didn’t have to count on over-par around again today.”
Q: Fred Biondi with a great round today as well as you assess just his performance so far in this championship?
“It’s really steady. I think he’d probably say that he’s not getting as much out of it as he wants, but these conditions are perfect for him. He hits the ball as well as anyone. He has worked really hard on his putting and I know that’s showing up a little bit. He’s also had some flash in some final rounds this year so I think he’s still right in the mix and has a good chance to win tomorrow.”
Q: You mentioned the conditions there. How have you seen them evolve as this championship has gone on?
“It was very nice plan this morning at 6:10am. The course was wet and there was no wind. We earned that. To play in those conditions that was great for probably the first 15 or 16 holes. This is a hard golf course, tons of wind and it’s getting firm again. It’s going to be a really good test for us tomorrow.”
Q: The program hasn’t qualified for mass placements that wasn’t stated in 2009. What would it mean to you guys to finally get over the hump and make it to match play?
“That’s been our goal all year long. I think we felt like we’ve been a match play team in the last three years, just haven’t got it done. I don’t think it’s going to be a surprise for everyone. We got a great team and great players. This is exactly where we expect to be.’
Senior Fred Biondi…
Q: How would you evaluate your performance so far this weekend?
“Overall pretty solid. I’ve been driving the ball pretty consistently. I’ve been hitting a lot of drivers on holes that as most people are hitting hybrids off the tees. So it gives me a little bit of a birdie opportunities, but I haven’t made any bogeys this week. I just kind of kept it pretty fun. Yesterday was a little bit more of a grind. Today was a little bit more of lag putting. I’ve been very patient with my lines and my target. If the putter heats up and I keep doing this, it will be a pretty low round, but at the same time this course will beat you up if you’re playing right or hitting well.”
Q: What are the keys to making putts on a course like this as it dries up and just seems to play differently every day even midday?
“You’re not going to have a lot of patterns. There’s not a crazy amount of reachable par fours or fives that guys can try to go for it, but the green is so hard to hold. You just gotta stay patient out here and make sure you’re plugging along. Putting good swings on it and not trying to get ahead of yourself. There’s going to be some looks, and hopefully you make some of them and not make too many mistakes.”
Q: You’re in position right now four strokes behind the leader in the individual. You’re obviously here as a team, but what do you need to do as an individual to challenge Ross Steelman (Georgia Tech) tomorrow?
“Same as I’ve been doing today in the last couple of days. I can’t get ahead of myself. I gotta stay patient and hit a lot of quality shots. Have to commit to a lot of lines that aren’t close to the pin, gotta hit 20 feet right or 20 feet left depending. You just got to keep doing that and stay patient. Hit a lot of greens and put a lot of good swings on it and eventually you’re gonna make some. A couple birdies out here goes a long way.”
Q: I asked Coach what it would mean to him to make history at the University of Florida and make match play for the first time. What would it mean to you and your teammates to be a part of that history If you guys are able to qualify tomorrow?
“It would mean a lot for sure. Our goal is not to just make match play, we want to try to win the whole thing, but there’s a lot of great teams here and we have to play well. We have to stay in the present and stay committed to what we’re doing. We’re not necessarily in match play yet, we still have a whole round to play and it’s a tricky course. We’ve got to stay calm and when things are not going our way and try to be patient.”
###
