- Florida Men's Golf photo
The Florida men's golf team claimed victory on Tuesday after outlasting Liberty in a two-hole playoff competition at the Timuquana Collegiate.
After a front nine of fluctuating scores, the Gators hit the back nine at even par and looking to advance up the leaderboard. Florida delivered, too, posting 13 birdies on the back to shoot 4-below par on the day.
At the conclusion of 54 holes, both Florida and Liberty sat atop the leaderboard at 21-under par apiece and headed for a playoff, where the Gators clinched on the second hole.
"I'm happy for our guys!" said coach J.C. Deacon. "Winning like that in a playoff was so much fun. Our goal today was to play hard for each other and we certainly did that. We have a lot to work on, but starting the spring with a W is fantastic."
Ricky Castillo was the top performer of the tournament for the Gators, posting back-to-back under par scores in the first two rounds and tying for eighth place behind a 6-under par total score of 210. This marks the fourth time in his collegiate career that Castillo has recorded a top-10 finish.
Manny Girona notched a fantastic final round, posting a clean front nine to go along with two birdies on the day. Girona recorded a career-low 4-under par total score of 212 and finished in a tie for 15th.
Yuxin Lin, who transferred mid-year from USC, and Joe Pagdin both recorded the best final round performances, carding 2-under par scores and combining for five birdies on the back nine.
Pagdin's heroics didn't stop with his scorecard, as the freshman stepped up in a big way for Florida when his birdie on the second playoff hole helped to clinch the tournament win for the Gators.
Tyler Wilkes rounded out the Florida lineup, carding a 2-over 218 for the tournament to finish tied for 37th.
INDIVIDUAL
Graduate transfer Vincent Norrman picked up his first collegiate victory at Florida State on Tuesday, using a birdie on the 18th hole to shoot 13-under and win the individual title.
Norrman shot a 3-under 69 on Tuesday to hold off Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra. He recorded a 34 on the front nine after three consecutive birdies, and when it came to pressure moments on the back nine he responded with two more birdies.
The Sweden native bogeyed the long par-4, 480-yard 17th hole to create a tie heading into the final hole. But his approach shot on the par-4, 423-yard 18th hole set him up for a very manageable birdie opportunity that he cashed in on. Lopez-Chacarra wound up with par.
“Golf’s a game you don’t get to win a lot, especially as an individual. For Vincent to come out in his second tournament for Florida State and to get a win against a lot of really talented players is a testament to him,” FSU head coach Trey Jones said.
“And the way he won the golf tournament by bogeying his 17th hole, all tied going into 18, and he drives it down the fairway and hits it to a foot…that’s the way you want to win the golf tournament. Couldn’t be prouder of him – he works hard. He will build on this.”
Norrman is the first Seminole besides John Pak to win a collegiate tournament since current graduate student Jamie Li co-won the 2018 Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate with Alum Harry Ellis.
Thanks to Florida and Florida State for these reports.
ABOUT THE
Timuquana Collegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by
the
University of North Florida. Team (best four scores
of
five players each round) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information