Fred Biondi leads Florida to the Sea Best Invitational title

January 31, 2023 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Florida Athletics photo

Biondi outduels teammate Ricky Castillo in a playoff to take medalist honors at TPC at Sawgrass (Dye's Valley)

Florida has made a habit of winning the Sea Best Invitational, as the Gators captured the team title for the sixth time on Tuesday at TPC at Sawgrass (Dye's Valley).

While the Gators' 23-stroke victory over North Florida sucked all of the drama out of the team competition, the race for medalist honors between Fred Biondi, currently ranked third in the PGA Tour University rankings, and former U.S. Walker Cup team member Ricky Castillo was far more intriguing.

The Florida teammates found themselves tied at the end of regulation after Biondi birdied the final hole to polish off a round of 64 and join Castillo at 6-under. The Brazilian ultimately prevailed to earn his third collegiate victory.

The Gators seal the deal at the Sea Best Invitational @TPCSawgrass 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Y64PVCWDV7
— PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global (@PGATOURU) January 31, 2023

Eight Gators finished in the top-25, including Giovanni Manzoni, who held the 36-hole lead at 4-under par but let the title slip out of his hands after making bogeys on his final two holes to finish one-stroke out of the playoff.

In his collegiate debut, redshirt freshman Miguel Leal tied for fifth at 3-under 207 following rounds of 66-73-68.

Max Dupree of the College of Charleston was the low non-Gator on the leaderboard, finishing fourth at 4-under 206.

Results: Sea Best Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Fred Biondi	, Brazil	600	72-68-64=204
2	Ricky Castillo	Yorba Linda, CA	400	65-72-67=204
3	Giovanni Manzoni	, Italy	300	69-67-69=205
4	Max Dupree	Eatonton, GA	300	69-73-64=206
T5	Max Kennedy	, Ireland	300	68-72-67=207

View full results for Sea Best Invitational

About the Sea Best Invitational

Fred Biondi leads Florida to the Sea Best Invitational title

54-hole men's college tournament hosted by the University of Jacksonville at Atlantic Beach CC. Team (best four out of five players each round) and individual competitions.