After winning back-to-back events to begin the year, Florida men’s golf will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to compete in the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The three-day, 54-hole event hosted by UNLV will kick off Sunday at noon at Southern Highlands Golf Club.
Participants
15 schools will compete in the tournament including nine ranked teams. No. 11 Florida will tee off against No. 4 UNC, No. 7 Illinois, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Texas and No. 25 SDSU. A pair of Gator rivals — Georgia and UCF — will also compete in the event.
Gator Lineup
The Gators will start an experienced lineup as seniors Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, Yuxin Lin and John DuBois team up with fifth-year Giovanni Manzoni. Florida junior Quentin Debove will compete in the tournament as an individual.
In the latest PGA Tour University Velocity Global Ranking, Biondi is number three after the São Paulo, Brazil, native won the Sea Best Invitational last month and placed top-10 at the Gators Invitational.
Bringing home the hardware 🏆#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/cSGFhVeiH5
— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) January 31, 2023
Castillo jumped to number 14 following his runner-up finish at the Sea Best Invitational and victory at the Gators Invitational.
Ricky Castillo wins The Vystar Credit Union Gators Invitational 🐊
🔵 3rd collegiate win
🔵 2nd win at The Gators Invitational #GoGators pic.twitter.com/IZuFffne4A— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) February 12, 2023
The California native earned his third career SEC Golfer of the Week honors last week.
Ricky Castillo secures SEC Co-Golfer of the Week 👀🐊#GoGators pic.twitter.com/sOL1jArLwg
— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) February 16, 2023
Lin is listed at No. 17 after the Beijing, China, native finished top-10 in each of his previous three outings. DuBois is ranked 29th followed by Manzoni at number 55.
Course Layout
Southern Highlands Golf Club will play as 7,510-yard, par-72 for the tournament. The course includes 10 par-4s, four par-5s and four par-3s. The first two events Florida competed in this year played under 6,800 yards and were only par-70s.