The Gators sit in fourth place after a collective 8-over-par Monday.
Florida’s struggles as a unit brought their tournament total to 6-over-par. The team is five strokes behind the leading Oklahoma Sooners going into the Calusa Cup’s final round.
Joe Pagdin wasn’t quite as strong as when he shot 5-under-par Sunday. His 1-over-par 73 kept the freshman in contention, however. Pagdin finished the round with four bogeys and two birdies after carding five birdies without a bogey in the first round. He ties for first.
Sophomore Ricky Castillo and freshman Tyler Wilkes sit firmly in the top-20, tied for 16th at 3-over-par. Castillo couldn’t keep his day one success. After shooting even par Sunday, the California native shot a 3-over-par 75. His day included two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Wilkes improved on his first round score and carded a 1-over-par 73 Monday. The Tampa native enjoyed a clean round. He knocked down pars on 17 of 18 holes and with just one bogey.
Redshirt sophomore Fred Biondi sneaks into the top-20, too. The Brazilian ties for 20th entering the final round after he finished round two with a 3-over-par 75 and increased his overall score to 4-over-par.
Sophomore Yuxin Lin rounded out the UF lineup at day two’s end. The Beijing, China, native found his swing and increased his overall score to 6-over-par after a 2-over-par 74 showing Monday. Lin stands alone in 30th place.
Calusa Pines Golf Club made the round difficult on the golfers Monday. The field averaged 74.58 strokes per round, nearly three shots over the course par of 72. The seventh and 10th holes played the toughest so far. The two holes combined for 68 bogeys, 11 double bogeys and just eight birdies.
Florida’s struggles Monday link back to several places, but the most glaring issue is the team’s lack of holes under par. The Gators pace the field in pars with 126 but knocked down just 21 birdies through two days of competition. With the second least in the tournament, they only lead Marquette in that category by three strokes. Marquette trails last at 38-over-par.
The Gators will look to make a run in the final round tomorrow. They tee off at 8:34 a.m., and Lin leads the team off the first tee. Live updates are available at 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.
