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Florida’s men’s golf team went to Arizona and took care of business as the Gators swept the individual and team titles.
Florida men’s golf went to Arizona and will return to Gainesville, Fla., with two new trophies to add to the case. Senior Fred Biondi took home the individual title on Monday and, on Wednesday night, provided the winning point to help Florida capture its first team title since 2001. The Gators defeated Georgia Tech 3-1.
The 22-year-long drought is over as the Gators swept at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Florida also won both titles in 2001 when Nick Gilliam claimed the individual medalist.
It was the Gators’ first time advancing into match play since match play was added in 2009. No team has been able to sweep the individual and team portion since 2016, when Aaron Wise and Oregon accomplished that feat, per the NCAA.
Florida head coach J.C. Deacon came to Florida in 2014, replacing Hall-of-Fame coach Buddy Alexander, and he finally got the Gators on top again, per the Gators’ press release.
“These guys don’t give up,” Deacon said. “They’re tough sons-of-guns, and I’m proud to be their coach.”
Four of the five championship matches came down to the wire. Only one ended before the 18th. Yuxin Lin scored the first point of the finals as he defeated Christo Lamprecht 4 and 3 in the lead-off match. Florida needed something after that point because Georgia Tech held the lead in the rest of the four matches.
After Lin’s match, the second match between Matthew Kress and Georgia Tech’s Bartley Forrester had to go to 20 holes before a winner was declared. Forrester scored the only point for the Yellow Jackets after holding off Kress, who came back to force extra holes.
Sitting at 1-1 with three matches to go, the Gators had to do something, and they did. John DuBois answered the call in the third match when he defeated Connor Howe 1 up to give the Gators a 2-1 lead.
Biondi clinched the championship by defeating Hiroshi Tai 1-up in a match that stayed within one the entire time. The Florida senior took the lead on 17, and Tai conceded the match when Biondi left his birdie putt just inches short on the final hole.
Fellow senior Ricky Castillo took on Ross Steelman in the anchor match and led 1 up through 17. That last match didn’t have to finish because the Gators got the three points they needed to capture the win.
“Winning as a team means so much more. It’s awesome that we did this together,” Biondi said. “It’s not just me closing it out. It’s every single person back home, back in the gym, the people back home cheering, the coaches on this staff, just everyone involved. It’s their championship, too.”
Florida accomplished a lot this season by winning their first SEC title since 2011, six tournament victories, and for the first time in school history, winning the SEC, individual and team national titles. The Gators now have five national championships in men’s golf.
