TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Dates: Friday, May 23 – Wednesday, May 28
Location: Carlsbad, Calif. – Omni La Costa: North Course
Host: NCAA / University of Texas 
Course Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,548 yards
Tee Times: 12:45 p.m. on Friday and 10:25 a.m. ET on Saturday, TBA other days 
Scoring: Clippd
Watch: Golf Channel 
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

TEE OFF

The SEC and Regional Champion Florida men’s golf team concludes the season at the NCAA National Championships at Omni La Costa from May 23-28. UF tees off round one at 12:45 p.m. on Friday and 10:25 a.m. on Saturday. 

LINEUP

No. 1 – Ian Gilligan

No. 2 – Jack Turner

No. 3 – Luke Poulter

No. 4 – Matthew Kress

No. 5 – Zack Swanwick

Substitute – Parker Sands

THE FIELD (Seed Number)

No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Ole Miss, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Virginia, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 Illinois, No. 12 UCLA, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 14 BYU, No. 15 South Carolina, No. 16 Pepperdine, No. 17 Georgia, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 19 Texas Tech, No. 20 Georgia Tech, No. 21 South Florida, No. 22 Colorado, No. 23 UNLV, No. 24 Purdue, No. 25 San Diego, No. 26 Wake Forest, No. 27 New Mexico, No. 28 Troy, No. 29 California and No. 30 Augusta. 

THE INDIVIDUAL FIELD (Seed Number)

No. 1 Jacob Modleski (Notre Dame), No. 2 Hunter Thomson (Michigan), Bryan Kim (Duke), Claes Borregaard (Kennesaw State), Braxton Watts (Utah) and Sakke Siltala (Texas State).

FORMAT

Play consists of four days of stroke play (18 each day) starting Friday, which first features a 54-hole cut with the top-15 teams and nine individuals on a non-advancing team a spot on Sunday to play in the final round of stroke play on Monday.

 

After the final 18 holes, the top-8 teams will advance to match play and a 72-hole NCAA Nationaol Individual Champion is crowned. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format features the quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, followed by the finals on Wednesday.

HOW TO WATCH

Golf Channel will start its broadcast of the tournament on Monday, May 26 for the final round of stroke play starting a 6 p.m. On Tuesday, May 28 quarterfinal coverage will go from 1-3:30 p.m. followed by the semifinals broadcasted starting at 6 p.m. The finals match broadcast begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Florida will make its 58th NCAA Championships experience, which is second in the SEC and ranks fourth-most in the country. The Gators have only missed qualifying twice under head coach J.C. Deacon in 10 total regional appearances. UF has claimed five national titles – 1968, 1973, 1993, 2001, 2023 – which ranks tied for most among SEC schools and eighth all-time. The program has also finished runner-up four times (1967, 1974, 1990, 2006) for a total 18 top-5 finishes.

UF has made the national championships 20 of the last 23 times as its 58 all-time outings at nationals are tied for fourth most in the nation behind Oklahoma State (76), Texas (69), Arizona State (59) and USC (58). Individually, Florida has touted the top finisher three times- Bob Murphy in 1966, Nick Gilliam in 2001 and Fred Biondi in 2023.

POSTSEASON GATORS

Florida has won both postseason tournaments this season, winning its 17th SEC Championship and seventh NCAA Regional Championship. The last time UF won both a team conference and regional title in the same season was 2011 as this is the fourth time both have been done in a season in program history – 1989 & 1992. 

DEACON’S LAST FOUR YEARS

In the last four years with Deacon, Florida has won the NCAA National Team Championship, four NCAA Championships appearances, two SEC Team Championships, three SEC Final Appearances, NCAA Individual Championship, SEC Individual Championship, NCAA Regional Team Championship,19 tournament titles and 13 individual titles.

LAST TIME OUT

The Gators won the NCAA Bremerton Regional at 28-under while Matthew Kress (-11) finished runner-up as the Gators advanced to its fifth straight NCAA National Championship at Gold Mountain Golf Club.

Entering the final day with nine-shot lead and clear of the championship cut by 31-shots, Florida had a final round of 3-under 285 for a 54-hole score of 28-under 836 after a 16-under round two, which was the sixth lowest round by par and lowest at a regional since a 17-under final round in 2018. The final tournament score by par of 28-under is tied for eight lowest all-time and third-lowest at an NCAA Regional in program history. 

The Gators finished 28 strokes ahead of the top-5 cut and won by three shots over No. 1-seed Arizona State. The next three teams to make the cut were Colorado (-4), USF (-2) and South Carolina (E) as Utah placed sixth, one shot away from forcing a playoff with the Gamecocks. Florida’s 28-under par was the third-lowest in regional play this year – Auburn 32-under and Florida State 29-under, who both played on their home course this week. 

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

Head Coach J.C. Deacon led the Gators to their second Southeastern Conference Championship in the last three seasons and 17th in program history, No. 2 among all league men’s golf programs. The victory is fourth this season and the 31st tournament title under Deacon in 11 seasons. This is the third straight season of four-plus wins under him and the seventh season of multiple wins, including the last five consecutive.

Florida reached SEC Match Play Finals for the third time overall and in the last four years (2022 & 2023) by defeating the No. 6 ranked Oklahoma Sooners 3-2 in the quarterfinals and the No. 1 seed, No. 2 ranked and the reigning SEC and National Champion Auburn Tigers, 3.5-1.5 in the semifinals yesterday. The win against the Aggies moves the all-time series record to 3-0 in the conference tournament.

In stroke play at the conference tournament, senior Ian Gilligan led the lineup 8-under finish behind a final round of 5-under 65. Sophomore Jack Turner placed T16 at 4-under and freshman Zack Swanwick T22 at 3-under. Gilligan went undefeated in match play (2-0-1) to finish 3-0-1 all-time in match play at the conference tournament en route to earning a spot on the Haksins Award Postseason Watch List. 

Swanwick burst onto the scene at the SEC Championship, going 3-0 in match play with match-clinching victories in the quarterfinals vs. Oklahoma and finals vs. Texas A&M. He was clutch in his first conference tournament, being down one with three to play in the finals and making back-to-back birdies en route to a 1Up victory.

Turner was recently the coach’s pick for the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup and Team USA. At the SEC Championship, he won the match-clinching point in the semifinals against the No. 1 player in college golf and back-to-back SEC Individual Champion, Jackson Koivun of Auburn, the reigning SEC and NCAA Champions. In stroke play, Turner shot all three rounds in the 60s for a T16 4-under outing, marking T22 finishes in his fourth career postseason tournament – runner-up at SECs last year. 

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE 

After winning the NCAA Team, NCAA Individual and SEC Team Championships behind three seniors and First-Team All-Americans of Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin the Gators have accumulated postseason experience with a new group of players the last two seasons. 

Entering the NCAA National Championships, Florida has a combined 97 postseason rounds in the lineup led by junior Matthew Kress with 36, senior Ian Gilligan 29 and sophomore Jack Turner 20. Both Luke Poulter and Zack Swanwick each gained nine from the SEC Championship and NCAA Regional this year as Poulter was the alternate a season ago at the conference tournament.  Comparing to last year’s regional lineup which totaled 83 postseason rounds, which included 5th-year and 2022 SEC Individual Champion, John DuBois. 

At the National Championships last year, the lineup had only two players (DuBois & Kress) play in the final postseason tournament. Compared to this year, Gilligan (3 rounds), Kress (11 rounds) and Turner (3 rounds) this season as all three played at La Costa last year. 

In the 2024 West Lafayette Regional, Florida entered the final round the in fifth at 2-under with a four-shot lead for the final advancing spot. UF shot a final round of 2-under 286 to produce a 54-hole score of 4-under 860 and make the top-5 championship cut by 12 shots behind a final round of 3-under 69 from Turner, a freshman at the time. Advancing out of the regional last year was some revenge for the Gators as In 2017, Florida was the No. 1-seed and missed the top-5 championship cut after a final round of 24-over 312.

NUMBERS IN THE POSTSEASON

Among the starting five this week, the group has put together impressive numbers in the postseason. Jack Turner owns a stroke average of 70.6 and is 10-under overall in 16 stroke play rounds with 10 rounds at par or better en route to finish T23 or better in each postseason tournament. Ian Gilligan is right behind the sophomore at 70.8 and is 14-under overall in 25 stroke play rounds with 17 par or better rounds.

Postseason newcomers, Luke Poulter and Zack Swanwick have also shined. Poulter carries a stroke average of 70, 3-0 in match play and five of his six stroke play rounds at par or better behind a T4 outing last week at regionals. Swanwick is tied with Gilligan at 70.8 and recently finished 3-under T22 and regionals while also owning a 3-0 record in match play at the SEC Championship.

The veteran among the lineup, Matthew Kress will tee off his ninth postseason tournament and 37th round on Friday. He has been apart of a National Team and two SEC Championships. He finished runner-up at 11-under, his best in career at the postseason behind a career stroke average of 72.3 and four match play victories.

ALL SEC GATORS

Ian Gilligan (First Team), Jack Turner (Second Team) and Zack Swanwick (Freshman Team) collected conference recognition voted by league coaches. 

A Haskins Award Postseason Finalist, Gilligan collects his second conference team award after earning second team last year, his first season in the SEC. Turner also collected his second as he was a freshman team member in 2024. Swanwick selection marks the third straight season with a Gator on the first-year team and sixth in the last six seasons. 

GILLY ON NOTICE

Senior Ian Gilligan has continued to gain recognition in his final collegiate season. He was named one of 15 golfers on the Haskins Awrad Postseason Watch List and one of 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award, the top two honors in college golf. 

He earned First Team All-SEC honors and is Gilligan is ranked No. 3 in the PGA Tour U Rankings after starting the season at No. 8 and No. 5 in WAGR. He has also earned SEC Golfer of the Week twice this season. 

FALL RECAP

The Orange and Blue concluded the fall slate finishing top-9 in all four outings, highlighted by winning the Barbara Nicklaus Cup, finishing runner-up at the Sahalee Players Championship and shooting the lowest round of the fall (-11) in the final 18-holes of the first half of the season. 

Individually, Ian Gilligan (71.0) and Jack Turner (71.1) paced the Gators in stroke average, top-10 finishes (2) and undefeated (3-0) in match play. Turner finished 4th twice and averaged -0.2 per round and -0.6 per tournament.  

NEW GATORS

The Orange and Blue welcomed two new golfers this season in Parker Sands (Edmond, Okla.) and Zack Swanwick (Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand). This summer, Sands won the 2024 Western Junior and the OGA (Oklahoma Golf Association) Junior Championship. Swanwick was the low amateur at the New Zealand Open and placed 3rd at the 2024 Austrian Masters of Amateur. 

Recently, Florida announced the addition of transfer Noah Kent from Iowa. He will compete for the Gators starting next fall and is from Naples and played at Gulf Coast Prep.

A SEASON AGO

Following Florida’s SEC and National Championship Titles, the Gators featured a new look lineup while three First-Team All-Americans – Fred Biondi (NCAA Individual Champion), Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin – all departed. Returning from the title teams was John DuBois and Matthew Kress.

After a shaky last fall, the Gators responded with five wins in the spring to total six on the season. Florida recorded consecutive seasons with six wins for the first time since 1973-74 and 1974-75. UF ended the spring portion of the season with five tournament wins and a 4th place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, that featured Ian Gilligan winning medalist honors and earning an exemption into the PGA Tour’s 2024 Shriners Open in October.

The Orange and Blue have now claimed 27 team titles under head coach J.C. Deacon in 10 seasons. It marked the seventh season under Deacon UF has won multiple tournaments in a year and fourth of three-plus. Six tournament wins in a season is tied for the most under Deacon, which came last season and included an SEC and National Championship.

The new look Gators left their mark in the postseason. At the SEC Championship, UF was led by true freshman Jack Turner, who posted a team-best T2 finish in his first conference tournament start. The performance ties the second-best finish by a Gator true freshman at the SEC Championship with Camilo Villegas, who placed T2 in 2001. Vanderbilt and Florida meet for the third straight season in match play SEC Championship with the Commodores edging out the Gators 3-2 in extra holes in the quarterfinals.  

Moving to Regionals and entering round three in the final advancing spot by four-shots, the Gators shot a final round of 2-under to take 3rd and make the cut by 12 strokes. Through the first hour-and-half in the final rounds, teams battled rainy and cold conditions. Florida put together great start and setup for success when the rain stopped, with a combined 1-under on the first hole (#10) and was even-par on counting scores through the first five holes in the rain.

 

Florida made a charge in the final nine holes after finding itself 1-over at the turn and only a four-shot advantage over Indiana, who had just teed off its round its. The Florida separation began with a trio of birdies from Parker Bell, John DuBois and Ian Gilligan. Then Jack Turner put the Hoosiers and Mississippi State’s comeback efforts out of reach with a birdie on six to go up by 10 shots and into fourth place. 

At the NCAA National Championship, Florida concluded with an 11th-place finish and battled for back-to-back match play appearances. An important 1-under 287 third round on Saturday helped advance Florida to the final round of stroke play for the third consecutive season. The Gators started the day in eighth, and in the final match-play spot with a one-shot advantage. The Orange and Blue continued its streak of five straight top-11 finishes after winning the national title – 1974: 2nd, 1994: 3rd, 1969: T5 and 2002: T11.

SUMMER RECAP

Across the board, the Gators captured success this summer, highlighted by securing three spots on the 2024 Western Amateur Semifinals in Parker Bell, Ian Gilligan and Jack Turner. Gilligan and Turner met in a marathon final with Gilligan winning in the 29-hole final. The victory also marked a Gator sweep of the Western with incoming freshman Parker Sands winning the Western Junior.

Bell made his major debut in the U.S. Open and made the first birdie of the tournament and was the leader at one point. He shot a final round of 70 and led the field in driving distance of 346.9 compared to 310.9 in the first two rounds. The junior also finished 4th at the Southern Amateur.

Gilligan made his PGA Tour Debut at the Barracuda Championship, making the cut and finishing T40. He also was part of Team USA’s victory at the Arnold Palmer Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the North & South Amateur.

Redshirt-freshman Rylan Shim closed out the summer with a 3rd place outing at the Canadian Amateur to go with a semifinals berth at the VSGA (Virginia State Golf Association) Amateur. 

Ryan Hart collected medalist honors at Wykagyl Country Club to secure a spot in the U.S. Amateur.