Florida Gators golf wins fifth National Championship in school history
For the fifth time in school history, the Florida Gators golf team is NCAA National Champions. Florida beat Georgia Tech in match play on Wednesday, taking three of the five necessary matches for the championship.
Yuxin Lin put Florida on the board winning the leadoff match 4 & 3. John Dubois won his match one up and brought the Gators close in on the title. Individual National Champion Fred Biondi closed out the Championship with a great approach shot on the 18th.
The Gators’ run to a National Championship saw an incredible comeback win over rival Florida State on Tuesday. With Florida State up 2-0, Castillo was down two thru 15, with his fellow seniors Fred Biondi and John DuBois both rallying to tie their matches late into the round. Biondi jumped ahead with a win on 17 and secured the first point for Florida with a tap-in par on 18. DuBois followed up with another clutch putt on the 18th hole, this time tying the match 2-2.
Castillo and his opponent, Brett Roberts, tied on the 18th hole and the next two playoff holes on 10 and 18. The two then made their way back to the 10th hole. Both landed drives in the fairway and followed with approach shots for birdie opportunities downhill. Roberts, a tad further away, went first and missed, leading to Castillo sinking the putt for the victory and a chance for the team championship. He improves his all-time collegiate match play record to 8-3-1.
The 21-hole match tied for the longest all-time at NCAAs, as the last was in 2016.
Gators team notes
- Florida won its fifth men’s golf National Championship in program history
- First since 2001
- The Gators are tied for 7th in most national team championships with LSU
- First time in program history Florida won the SEC Championship, NCAA Championship, and NCAA Individual Title in the same year
- UF is one of eight schools to win five or more national titles
- Only one of two SEC Schools with LSU, who has also won six titles
- It marks the fourth time in program history Florida won both the SEC and NCAA Championship in the same season
- This is the second time the Gators have won the team championship and individual title in the same since 2001
- Fred Biondi won the 2023 NCAA Championship Individual Title
- Nick Gilliam was the 2021 NCAA Individual Champion
- The victory marked UF’s six-team win this season, the most since seven in 2003-04 when Florida won seven
- This is the sixth time the Gators have won six events in a single season
Fred Biondi wins individual National Championship
- Third Gator to win medalist honors at the NCAAs
- Others include Bob Murphy (1966) and Nick Gilliam (2001)
- First South American-born player to win the NCAA Individual Title
- First International player since Thomas Pieters (Illinois) of Belgium in 2012
- The first player to shoot under par in all four rounds at the last three National Championships at Grayhawk GC.
- The -7 is the first Gator under par at the NCAAs since Tyler McCumber’s 2-under in 2012
Collegiate Match Play Records Postseason (SECs + NCAAs) – Heading into Today
- Fred Biondi (5-1-2)
- Ricky Castillo (5-0-3)
- John DuBois (6-2)
- Yuxin Lin (4-4)
