The Florida Gators men’s golf team is set to begin their third and final tournament of the fall at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Alabama.
The tournament is a 3-day, 54-hole stroke play tournament that will feature all 14 SEC schools. It will begin Sunday and run through Tuesday.
This is the 31st straight year Alabama will host the Jerry Pate, and the tournament will take place at the Old Overton Country Club in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.
Florida’s lineup will remain the same as it was in the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate. Sophomore Ricky Castillo will lead the way as the team’s No. 1, followed by freshman Joe Pagdin, redshirt sophomore Fred Biondi, freshman Tyler Wilkes and junior Giovanni Manzoni.
Here are the top storylines to watch for as the Gators hit the course Sunday.
Will Fred Biondi continue his successful fall?
After sitting out the first tournament of the fall, Biondi made his mark at the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate. He led the Gators throughout the weekend, finishing 7-under-par and in a tie for 15th individually. Biondi is listed as the No. 3 golfer on Florida’s roster for the Jerry Pate. If the Gators can get that level of production out of their third golfer, they will have a successful week in Alabama.
Can the Gators build on the success they’ve had at the Jerry Pate in years past?
Florida has played in this tournament 13 times, most recently in 2015. They have typically been very successful, finishing in second place in each of their last three appearances and five times overall. This Gators squad is coming off of a fourth place at the Legends after finishing in 12th at the Blessings, so they’ll look to ride that momentum into Alabama this week.
Florida is expected to complete a practice round Sunday morning and tee off at 1:20 p.m. Live scoring updates for the Jerry Pate National Collegiate will be available on Golfstat.com.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Michael_Hull33.
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
