The Florida men’s golf team finished the day in ninth place at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, shooting a collective 1-over-par Tuesday.
The Gators were again led by freshman Joe Pagdin, who shot a 1-under-par 69 in the second round. Pagdin had four birdies on the day, bringing his tournament total to seven. He is now 3-under-par entering the final day and tied for 15th individually.
Junior Giovanni Manzoni shot 1-over-par Tuesday, dropping to even par for the tournament. He is tied for 29th.
Sophomore Ricky Castillo bounced back from his poor day one performance, shooting a 1-under-par 69 to bring his total to 2-over-par. He knocked in five birdies on the round and moved up nearly 20 spots.
Redshirt sophomore Fred Biondi is also sitting at 2-over-par after Tuesday. Biondi struggled a bit in the second round, shooting a 2-over-par 72 after notching an even round Monday. Biondi and Castillo are tied for 39th, while freshman Tyler Wilkes is tied for 58th, sitting at 7-over-par.
The Gators finished strong as a collective unit Tuesday. They carded six birdies and no bogeys in the last five holes, which head coach J.C. Deacon saw as a huge boost. According to a release, the Gators will be the first team to start from the No. 1 tee on Wednesday, which Deacon says makes a big difference at a tough course like Old Overton.
“The three hardest holes on the course are 10, 11 and 12, and we’ve had to start right there the past two rounds,” Deacon said in a release. “It makes things extremely difficult.”
Deacon sees his team making a final push during the third round, hoping it can ride the momentum of a successful Tuesday performance.
“One day of hot putting and we can move right up the leaderboard,” Deacon said in a release. “I’m excited to watch our guys attack the final round of our fall season.”
The Gators tee off for the last time in 2020 bright and early at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Live scoring will be updated on Golfstat.com.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Michael_Hull33.
Freshman Tyler Wilkes practices at Mark Bostick Golf Course. After two full days of competition at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, Wilkes is tied for 58th individually.
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.
