After having a week off to improve after a disappointing 13th place finish in its first tournament, the Florida men’s golf team is coming off its qualifying rounds for the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Ind.
And an unheralded freshman, Ryan Celano, won the qualifying after three days of play.
"We really needed someone to step up and grab a spot and (Celano) did that, shot 65 in the first round which was awesome to see," Deacon said. "I’m really looking forward to see how he performs on the road and see how he can help us this weekend in Indiana."
Celano won the qualifying after building up a big lead after the first round.
He led by seven shots after the first day and increased it to an eight-shot advantage after the second round of play.
In the final round, Celano shot a 76 but hung on and won the qualifying by four strokes.
Celano went up against an older team, but as a freshman was able to come out on top and will contribute for UF in the second tournament.
"I can’t wait to see him on the road this week, it’s a long hard golf course we’re going to play. … he has that fire and he wants to compete and we really needed him to step up and he did do that," Deacon said.
Having success is nothing new to Celano. In his prep career, he placed second as an individual at the 2011 FHSAA 1A State Championship.
The Naples, Fla., native was also named the Naples Daily News Area Player of the Year four times.
Celano followed up his successful prep career with an amateur career that included winning the individual title at the Lemon Bay Golf Club on the 2013 Florida Junior Golf Tour.
Celano earned a berth in the 2013 U.S. Amateur, winning the qualifier after shooting a 67 in the first round and 71 on the final day of play.
After struggling in the first tournament of the fall, Deacon kept reminding the players throughout the week off that finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard was unacceptable and they have to improve.
Having a player like Celano will only help their play heading into Zionsville.
"I think it’s going to really help having Ryan Celano, he went out and earned a spot, we have everyone qualifying on the team and the top two players in the qualifying get a spot, and Ryan went out and earned it," Deacon said.
"I didn’t have to pick him and give him a spot, so that was huge. I think he’s going to add a lot of energy, he’s got a ton of power and he’s really going to help us."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
