J.C. Deacon first met Sam Horsfield and Jorge Garcia in July of 2014.
Deacon, a former assistant coach at UNLV, had recently accepted the job to become the head coach of the Florida men’s golf team after Buddy Alexander retired in April of that year.
Deacon’s first priority?
To maintain the star-studded 2015 class that included Horsfield, Garcia and Gordon Neale.
Deacon, Horsfield and Garcia met at Highlands Reserve — Horsfield’s home course — in Davenport.
When the rookie head coach left that meeting, he had one particular thought in mind.
This team was going to be good.
“The biggest thing I noticed was how driven both of them were,” Deacon said. “They were both so convinced that they were gonna have a career in golf … and they wanted to make sure that their college career was gonna be a proper stepping stone for them to reach their goals of playing professional golf.”
Almost two years later, that vision has become a reality.
Although Florida opened the 2015-16 season finishing outside the top four in three out of four events, things quickly changed.
Florida captured its first title at the Florida Gulf Coast University Classic after posting a 13-under 851, 42 strokes ahead of second place.
Horsfield finished in third place — his best finish to that point.
If that tournament was the spark to Horsfield’s season, the next tournament was the full-on fire.
At the next event, the Sea Best Invitational, after firing rounds of 65, 68 and 70, Horsfield collected the first win of his collegiate career, becoming the first UF freshman to win an individual title since Billy Horschel in 2006. To top it off, the Gators won the event, shooting 14 under to win by 23 strokes.
Although Florida would not win another tournament the rest of the year, Horsfield continued to make history.
He went on to win two more times, capturing the Southern Highlands Collegiate and the Mason Rudolph Championship to become the winningest freshman in UF history.
And the accolades didn’t stop there.
Horsfield was named a PING First-Team All-American on Tuesday.
“He’s got a gift,” Deacon said of Horsfield.
“I think Sam can be the No. 1 player in the world one day. I think he’s that good. I really do.”
And while Horsfield dominated headlines all season long, Garcia and Neale weren’t too far behind.
Garcia collected seven top-20 finishes on the year, including a tie for fourth at the Sea Best Invite.
For much of the year, Garcia was featured as Florida’s No. 2 player. Then Neale happened.
Neale, who came to Florida as one of the top junior golfers in the country, was sidelined for much of the year due to injury.
At the Mason Rudolph Championship, with more than half the season gone, he finally got his chance. Neale, who had the lead with nine holes to play, finished second. He finished in the top five once more, finishing fourth at the SEC Championship. Neale has set himself up to be a force for the Gators in the years to come.
With Horsfield returning for his sophomore season, Florida is only losing one player, senior Richard Donegan, who was featured in the lineup only once this season. In addition, Andy Zhang, the top-rated golfer in the 2016 class, signed a national letter of intent in November. Zhang, who played in the 2012 U.S. Open as a 14-year-old, will join UF for the start of the 2016-2017 season.
Among ups and downs, graduations and new beginnings, as long as Horsfield, Garcia and Neale are at the helm, the future looks to be bright for Florida.
Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter at @rboone1994.
Sam Horsfield hits a shot during Round 2 of the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 21, 2016, at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
