UF Men’s Golf: Gators Tied for Fourth After 18 in Las Vegas

Courtesy of UF Athletic Association

The Florida men’s golf team is tied for fourth after the first round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

Three Gators sit within the top 25 individually, and the Florida men’s golf team is currently tied for fourth after shooting 7-over 295 in the first round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate on Sunday.

The Southern Highlands Golf Course proved challenging, as UCLA was the only team in the field to finish the day under par at 1 under. UCLA holds a five-stroke lead entering the second round.

Ricky Castillo paced the Gators through the first round in the desert. Castillo recorded a clean 2 under on the back nine to finish the opening round at 1-under par. The freshman is currently tied for fourth individually and sits just three strokes off the leader.

Blake Dyer also had a solid outing for the Gators, notching five birdies throughout the round to go into the clubhouse at 1 over. Dyer is currently tied for 14th on the individual leaderboard.

John Axelsen shot 2-over 74 through his first 18 holes to put him in a tie for 21st individually.

John DuBois rounded out the Gators’ first-round counting scores, coming in at 5 over.

The second round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET.

Head Coach JC Deacon’s Take

On the tough conditions…
“Today was probably the toughest conditions we’ve played in all year – championship golf course and the wind blowing 30 mph all day. I could not be more impressed with how we handled it. We controlled our emotions and stayed patient. When this team does those two things, we are really good.”

On looking ahead to tomorrow…
“There is a ton of golf left, and we need to improve every day. Today was a great challenge, and we proved to ourselves that we’ve come so far from the start of the season.”