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Florida trio golfers have excelled in the Arnold Palmer Cup over the past three days. The Ryder Cup-style event, to be held this year at Rich Harvest Farms, will feature 48 collegiate golf courses divided into a U.S. team and an international team of 12 men and 12 women on each team. UF head coach JC Deacon, a native of Canada, served as head coach on the international side.
The Gators were the only men’s team with three representatives at the event, and the only one with competitors from both sides. Ricky Castillo competed for the US team, while Yuxin Lin (China) and Joe Pagdin (English) played on the international side. Castillo and Lin made their second appearance at the event, while Pagdin was a competitor for the first time.
For Gator golfers, Saturday’s four games on Saturday morning highlighted the weekend as all three scored for their teams. The only school in Florida and Oklahoma with multiple participants took two international points when Lin and Eugenio Chacarra won 3 & 2, while Pagdin and Bo Jin won 3 and 1. Castillo and Dylan Menante (Pepperdine) scored a goal in the USA: lle, 2 and 1.
Pagdin started the event with a point in a four-ball game on Friday, joining Emily Prince (Kent State) to win the round, 1-up, for the international team, while Castillo and Lauren Hartlage (Louisville) earned a draw and a half point for the US. In Saturday afternoon’s doubles, Lin and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (South Carolina) and Castillo and Rachel Kuehn (Wake Forest) got a draw and a half point for their teams.
Castillo got Sunday in the doubles final of the game, improving Pagdin, 2 & 1, and scoring a goal for the US, securing a 33-27 victory in the Palmer Cup and improving all-time 13-11-1.
ON COACH DEACON
“It was a great honor to serve as captain of an international team in the Arnold Palmer Cup. I didn’t know what to expect to get to the event because I had only met a few players and coaches before.
“I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences of my life. These 24 players and four coaches became so incredibly close in just five days. The passion and love with which they played the game and supported each other was really inspiring.
“I’ve learned more this weekend than I could ever imagine. I’ll be a much better coach as I serve in this role. I want to thank everyone at the Arnold Palmer Cup and GCAA for this opportunity. For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget this week!”
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