12 hours and 1,760 miles away after PGA Tour debut, this golfer teed it up in college event

“I probably slept two days straight after the adrenaline kicked out.”

Caden Fiononi’s body still aches. He’s taking a few days off from touching his golf clubs, and for good reason.

The senior at UNLV had a wild journey last week. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, battling insane wind conditions in the second round resulting in a missed cut. About 12 hours later, he was about 1,760 miles away in Mississippi, running on less than two hours of sleep and set to tee it up for the Rebels in the Fallen Oak Collegiate.

While it would have been an easy choice for others to not scramble halfway across the country, Fioroni never wavered.

“Most selfish golfers, especially with rankings and PGA Tour (University), you would probably have sat it out,” Fioroni said. “But this is my last year, and I care a lot about this team. I care about the program, and I want them to succeed.”

Fioroni’s round finished close to 7 p.m. at TPC Summerlin on Friday evening, and he was exhausted. Before prepping for his PGA Tour debut, the UNLV men’s golf team returned from a college tournament in Dallas, so he was on the go non-stop.

There was a ton of prep time and grinding on the range, playing practice rounds with pros like Rickie Fowler picking up on tips and tricks. Add in Friday’s wind conditions, which he played his entire second round in, his tank was empty when is final putt dropped.

After talking with his father, however, Fioroni called UNLV coach Jean-Paul Hebert and asked whether he could play.

The next step was finding a flight. Southwest Airlines had one to New Orleans, Louisiana, but it was scheduled to leave at 7:50 PT. Thankfully, it was delayed an hour and a half, giving Fioroni time to make it to the airport.

He scurried home and threw together a bunch of clothes into a bag. “I didn’t really know what I threw in,” he said. And it was off to the airport.

He didn’t have a ticket when he got to the airport, but after going to the counter, he was able to get a seat on the flight.

A three-and-a-half hour flight later, Fioroni was wheels down in New Orleans, where Hebert was waiting at 3:30 a.m. CT to pick him up. Only there was a problem. His bag with his clothes in it didn’t come out on the baggage carousel.

He was still in the clothes he played his round in at TPC Summerlin, and that’s all he had.

“I waited another hour to talk to this lady that probably wanted to leave, too,” Fioroni said,” but she tried to help me out because the bag said it got there, and they didn’t know where it was.”

Eventually, the bag was secured, and Hebert and Fioroni got in the car and headed toward the hotel in Mississippi, where they arrived about 6 a.m. CT.

Less than two hours of sleep later, Fioroni was up again and ready to tee it up for the Rebels.

“I was really excited actually just be in my bed all day, the next day,” Fioroni said of his plans before flying to Mississippi. “So I just kind of tried pushing through it. And, you know, my body’s not, I mean, I’m trying to be in better shape, but I don’t know who can get used to that.”

Fioroni tied for 41st, shooting 7 over for the 54-hole tournament. He said the second round was one of the worst breaks he has ever gotten on a golf course (a plugged lie in a bunker that led to an opening double), “but I guess that’s just what golf does, right?”

“I thought it was the right thing, even though that, you know, I probably wasn’t giving myself the best chance to play my best in that college event, but I still helped the team,” Fioroni said, “which that was my kind of purpose.”

Fioroni teed off at 11:20 a.m. CT, a little more than 14 hours after his final putt dropped at a PGA Tour event in Las Vegas. A mad dash to the airport, flight and car ride later, he was teeing it up with his teammates.

It’s a week and stretch of golf he’ll never forget, but he knows testing himself will benefit him down the road, even if he’s not touching his clubs for a while.

“When I turn pro, not everything’s perfect,” Fioroni said. “And you’re gonna have to travel the day after a tournament and trying to play in something else. So that was my first time doing that.

“I probably slept two days straight after the adrenaline kicked out.”

UNLV’s Caden Fioroni, San Jose State’s Antonia Malate win 12th annual Patriot All-America; Arizona’s Chaz Aurilia claims inaugural Thunderbolt

The event honors fallen or severely wounded soldiers in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation.

UNLV junior Caden Fioroni and San Jose State grad student Antonia Malate won their respective divisions at the 12th annual Patriot All-America in Arizona on Saturday.

Fioroni finished at 12 under after scores of 67-71-63 at the Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Arizona, to beat Oklahoma’s Ben Lorenz by a shot. Colorado State’s Connor Jones and Oklahoma’s Stephen J. Campbell tied for third at 10 under.

Fioroni’s final-round 63 featured birdies on five of his last seven holes, including Nos. 16, 17 ad 18, to tie the men’s division low score. Lorenz had a look for birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff but his putt came up short.

“I have no words right now, honestly I knew I was really behind today and this is the first time I never thought about my score,” said Fioroni. “I knew I needed to make as many birdies as I could. I was so much in the zone I didn’t realize until after the round that I shot 8 under. I’m kind of in shock right now – I dont know what to say.”

UNLV Caden Fioroni
UNLV’s Caden Fioroni celebrates after winning the 2022 Patriot All-America in Litchfield Park, Arizona. (Photo: Arizona Golf Association)

Meanwhile, Malate earned medalist honors in the women’s division after outlasting ASU’s Grace Summerhays and Emma McMyler of Xavier.

The three golfers finished 54 holes tied at 9 under. Summerhays was knocked out first after parring the first playoff hole, while Malate and Xavier made birdie. On the fourth playoff hole, Malate drained a 20-foot eagle putt to claim the win.

“This is one of my bigger collegiate wins so I’m excited,” said Malate. “[Emma] played really well and made a lot of great putts. She made it hard for me, so I had to make an eagle to win.”

2022 Patriot All-America
Antonia Malate of San Jose State celebrates after winning the 2022 Patriot All-America in Litchfield Park, Arizona. (Photo: Arizona Golf Association)

Arizona senior Chaz Aurilia won the inaugural Thunderbolt at Sterling Grove Golf & Country Club in Surprise, Arizona.

Aurilia also needed extra holes to win. Tied with Fresno State’s Joseph Lloyd at 13 under, Aurilia sank a 20-foot birdie then watched Lloyd’s birdie try from about 18 feet lip out.

“It feels good. I played really well all week,” said Aurilia. “This is the first time they’ve had this event, and it’s a really good event. It’s for a really cool cause, also, so it was a great tournament for me.”

2022 Thunderbolt
Chaz Aurilia won medalist honors at the 2022 Thunderbolt at Sterling Grove Golf & Country Club in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo: Arizona Golf Association)

About the The Patriot All-America

The event honors fallen or severely wounded soldiers in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation. At the opening ceremony, golfers receive a golf bag donated by Ping emblazoned with the name and branch of service of a fallen or injured military member whom they shall represent. Participants also receive a card with the soldier’s story so they can be familiar with that soldier, giving many of the top players a unique perspective not only on golf, but on life. At the conclusion of the tournament, the golf bags are shipped to players’ schools and auctioned with all proceeds benefitting the Folds of Honor Foundation. Named after the Air Force P-47 Thunderbolt, the new event was added in 2023 to accommodate players who met the initial eligibility but did not make it into The Patriot.

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Texas A&M paces field heading into final round of 2022 Blessings Collegiate Invitational

Texas A&M has a sizable lead heading to the final round.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Blessings Golf Club hosted the 2019 NCAA Championships, and even before then, it was known as one of the toughest college golf courses in the country.

The home course for Arkansas requires precision on every shot. Any lapse in concentration will likely result in a big score on any hole.

Yet for the Texas A&M men’s golf team, they were about as precise as you could be Tuesday. The Aggies, ranked 10th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, fired a round of 15-under 273 to vault into the top position of the men’s competition at the 2022 Blessings Collegiate Invitational with 18 holes to go.

Texas A&M was one of only two teams (Mississippi State, 3 under) to shoot under par during the second round at the par-72, 7,700-yard layout.

“We made some timely putts when we needed to and had five guys in it all day,” Texas A&M coach Brian Kortan said. “It makes a big difference when you’ve got five guys that are doing a lot of things right.”

The Aggies are at 11 under after 36 holes, beating host Arkansas by 12 strokes with the final round coming Wednesday.

The Blessings Collegiate Invitational has a different format, with 11 men’s and women’s teams coming together and playing at the same time. In addition to that, all five players for each team play together at the same time instead of facing those from other schools.

So when Texas A&M got on a roll on the back nine, the players fed off one another. The Aggies recorded 15 birdies on the back nine, with every player recording at least two. Sam Bennett, the 2022 U.S. Amateur champion, has four and shot 4-under 68. Daniel Rodrigues had seven birdies on the day and shot 6-under 66. He leads the tournament at 9 under, one shot better than Kansas’ Gunnar Broin, who shot 1-under 71 in the second round after an opening 65.

Broin couldn’t find rhythm with his putter during the second round, but he did have an impressive second shot into the par-4 seventh, his 16th hole of the day.

“I had 220 in, and it was a little bit longer than I anticipated having,” Broin said. “Coach kind of steered my toward hitting a 5-iron in, and I hit it pretty close to perfect.”

The ball tumbled into the cup, earning him an eagle. He also birdied his final hole of the day.

UNLV’s Caden Fioroni sits in third at 5 under after an even-par 72 in the second round. Arkansas’ Segundo Oliva Pinto is two shots behind Fioroni with Ole Miss’ Sarut Vongchaisit rounding out the top five at 2 under.

In the team competition, Texas A&M is the only team under par, and they have a comfortable lead over second-place and host Arkansas at 1 over and third-place Mississippi State, which is at 9 over for the tournament. Ole Miss (12 over) and Clemson (13 over) sit in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Wednesday’s final round will be broadcast on Golf Channel from 4:30-7:30 p.m ET.

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