Biondi Ties Tournament Round Record, Gators Lead at 24-Under
Florida shot 24-under on day one as three individuals sit in the top four overall.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Fred Biondi began the day by tying the round record (63) as the Florida men's golf team leads the 45th VyStar Gators Invitational at 24-under on Saturday. Florida shot 536 on day one and holds a 13 stroke lead over No. 3 Oklahoma State with three Gators in the top four in Biondi (1st), Ricky Castillo (2nd) and Yuxin Lin (T4). The Gators have two teams this tournament, with Florida (B) in fourth place at 3-under as both groups combined for 11 rounds under par. Biondi's first round of 63 (-7) set a new career-low as he tied the tournament record and followed up with a 66 (-4) in round two to end as the clubhouse leader at 11-under with 14 birdies. Castillo, who shot a 63 in the 2020 invitational, sits in second at 8-under after rounds of 64 (-6) and 68 (-2) as he also recorded two eagles on the day.
Rounding out the group on the top of the leaderboards was Lin who mirrored his teammates and shot both rounds in the '60s with a pair of 68s (-2). Tyler Wilkes cut strokes off his second round with a 67 (-3) to sit in the top-25 in 21st (E). Giovanni Manzoni (-3) leads the Florida (B) team and carded a 66 (-4) in the final round to move into T6. Finishing even on the afternoon at T21 was both Quentin Debove and Joe Pagdin. After making his collegiate debut in the season opener, Ryan Hart ended round one with a career-low 69 (-1) as senior Manny Girona sank three consecutive birdies to finish 2-under on the front nine in round two. The Gators tee off the final round tomorrow at 8:45 a.m. on hole one, staring with Florida (B) followed by Florida (A).
