Deacon wins with his ‘best’
Attitude keys Gators coach at Florida Open
GAINESVILLE – UF coach J.C. Deacon eats, breathes and sleeps golf. Playing golf? It depends. Sometimes Deacon gets in a few rounds a week and other times barely touches a club. When he stepped to the first tee during last weekend’s 71st Florida Open, he had put the peg in the ground just twice in more than 14 days.
“I told my wife the night before I had no clue what is going to happen tomorrow,” he said.
Four days later, Deacon walked off the 54th hole a one-shot winner over Matt Borchert of Isleworth after carding a 15-under 203 total at Lecanto’s Black Diamond Resort.
“This was the best golf tournament of my life,” Deacon said. “I’ve never played at that level before.”
Such brilliant golf would seem a big ask for a guy running a top-10 program, recruiting non-stop and helping raise a 2-year-old daughter.
Instead, Deacon’s hot play is becoming a pattern. His second act as a player also includes shooting a course-record 60 — twice — at UF’s Mark Bostick during the past couple of years.
Deacon never imagined his golf game would be “exponentially better in all areas” at age 34.
“It’s frustrating that that’s the case,” he said. “But when I was playing professionally full time, I could never play like I do now.”
Talent has never been the question with Deacon.
After playing for national power UNLV, Deacon in 2005 reached the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur — something even Jordan Spieth never did during his decorated amateur career.
But two years on the Gateway Tour and four years on the Canadian Tour convinced the Toronto native to enter coaching.
Whatever was missing from Deacon’s game, he found it at UF.
“I’m really confident in what I’m able to teach the guys,” he said. “I know my understanding of golf is really good, and I just haven’t been able to apply to myself and my own game. For whatever reason this week, I was able to do that.”
Deacon credits an attitude adjustment shaped by last season’s frustrating finish.
UF won five times and entered NCAA Regionals one of the six No. 1 seeds. But the Gators stumbled and failed to advance the NCAA Championships.
“I never would have thought in a million rounds our team would have played like it did at Regionals,” Deacon said. “It was really unfortunate, especially for the kids. But it’s given me a greater respect of the game and the difficulty of it.
“I’ve been
When Deacon doublebogeyed the sixth hole during the final round, he applied his newfound insight during the walk to the next hole — a drivable par-4 measuring 295 yards.
“Going through the process of calming myself down and thinking about the next shot and getting into the process of that, I hit my best drive of the entire week,” he recalled.
Deacon then drained the 25-foot eagle putt.
“To answer a double bogey with an eagle was just huge,” he said.
Deacon was not finished yet.
His conservative, fairways-and-greens approach produced a two-shot lead entering the final hole. But after Borchert hit his approach to seven feet on the par-5 18th hole, Deacon cooked his shot 10 yards over the green.
An up-and-down really learning.” for birdie trumped Borchert’s eagle and earned Deacon the win.
“All the things we consistently try to teach our guys I was able to be an example of it this week,” Deacon said. “I’m excited to be able to pass on this knowledge and what I’ve learned to the Gators in the future.”
But not before Deacon enjoyed the spoils of winning an event dating 1942 and with a list of champions including PGA Tour winners and former Gators Bob Murphy and Gary Koch.
Deacon said he received around 200 text messages and 100 e-mails. He also picked a nice offseason bonus — the $15,000 winner’s check.
“I’ll take the money,” he said. “That was the biggest check I will cash for a golf tournament. The wife is pretty happy with that one.”