GAINESVILLE — A day after UF coach JC Deacon’s latest Florida Open win, he still wondered how he’d done it — even though he had twice before.
“I don’t know where that came from,” he told The Orlando Sentinel Monday. “I shocked myself to be totally honest.”
In becoming just the third three-time Florida Open champion and the first since Don Bisplinghoff in 1962, Deacon birdied the first sudden-death hole to beat former Gator Joe Pagdin — the 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year who grew up in Orlando and finished his college career in 2024.
Deacon’s dedication to players like Padgin has helped UF’s longtime coach perform a rare and rewarding second act, culminating with a final-round 5-under par 67 Sunday at Quail West Country Club in Naples for a 16-under 200 total over 54 holes.
To play elite golf at the right time, Deacon recently unlocked a swing key while working on techniques he might be able to impart to his players.
“I’m always thinking about my guys and what can help them get better, and trying to learn,” he said. “I’ve been experimenting on myself and found some things — and obviously was able to put it into play and play pretty good.”
Deacon explained his swing path had become too shallow, so he steepened it slightly and began to bottom out the club ahead of the golf ball.
“It started feeling really good with my chipping. So I’m like, why don’t I try this with my full iron shots,” he recalled. “I was like, whoa, there’s a big difference. It just kind of went from there.”
En route to victories at the 2017 and 2020 Florida Opens, an appearance in the 2019 Canadian Open and a pair of record-setting 10-under 60s at UF’s Mark Bostick Golf Course in 2015 and 2017, Deacon tapped into another level of golf he had pursued since he was young a player growing up in Toronto.
Sunday’s victory continued a career renaissance at age 42.
“I was talking to my dad and brother yesterday,” Deacon recalled. “I put so much time in as a kid, 10 hours a day, 12 hours a day, every day. I feel like I’m just now, the last 10 years enjoying the benefits of that. Crazy game golf is. You never know when you’re going to play your best.
“I’m thankful to get that win, because I really do understand how hard it is to win.”
Sunday was no different.
Deacon began the day two shots behind former UCF star Brad Schneider, but eagled the opening hole. Following a double-bogey 6 at the short par-4 No. 8, Deacon birdied four of his next seven holes.
For a chance to beat Pagdin in a playoff, Deacon needed to birdie the par-5 18th.
Facing a difficult tee shot to a narrow fairway on the 576-yard closing hole, Deacon said he “smartened up” and opted for a 2-iron over his driver. He then hit another 2-iron to 116 yards, followed by “the best wedge shot I hit all week” to inside 2 feet.
“That was clutch,” he said.
Missing out on the playoff were a number of highly accomplished players, including former PGA Tour pro Justin Hicks, who tied for fourth South Florida PGA Hall of Fame member Alan Morin, who tied for ninth. Ocala native Ted Potter Jr., a former winner on Tour, placed 18th.
AJ Crouch, who finished third, was the only tournament winner on Deacon’s first UF squad in 2014-15 and also played the following season for the Gators.
“A lot of good players,” Deacon said of the field.
The victory further cemented Deacon’s place in the annals of a storied event that began in 1906 and was played for the 79th time this past weekend. Bisplinghoff and eight-time winner Pete Cooper are the only golfers with as many victories.
The illustrious list of winners includes former Gators and future PGA Tour winners Bob Murphy, Gary Koch and Dudley Hart, who is currently Deacon’s assistant coach. Other Florida Open winners include World Golf Hall of Fame members Jim Barnes, who won in 1921, Leo Diegel (1925), Johnny Farrell (1926) and 1929 winner Horton Smith, who won the first Masters Tournament in 1934.
Seven-time Tour winner Gardner Dickinson won the 1952 Florida Open. In the modern era, future Tour winners Bruce Fleisher (1980, 1987), Donnie Hammond (1982), John Huston (1985), and Bart Bryant (1994) captured the event.
“It’s humbling to look at those names,” Deacon, a native of Toronto, said. “A lot of Gators on there, which I’m really, really proud of. Florida’s been one of the best states for for golfers forever, and to be a champion three times is really an honor, and something I’m very proud of.”
The victory earned Deacon $20,000, along with continuing credibility with his players and potential recruits.
“Hopefully we get some guys who want to come play for for two guys (including Hart) who can still get it done,” said Deacon, who has shot in the 60s in all nine rounds of his Florida Open wins.
On the way to his latest victory, Deacon also gained further respect for his players and their process.
“I really appreciate being able to be in their shoes, even if it’s only for one week,” he said. “There’s so much that goes into playing tournament golf, and it’s always a good reminder for me. When you’re coaching, you’re watching all the time and it just seems easy from the outside.
“It’s a really tough game.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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