Bell, Turner Shine As Florida Earns Chance to Defend Men’s NCAA Golf Title

The Florida men’s golf team is headed back to the national championships.

The defending champion Gators shot 4-under for the tournament to finish placed third overall Wednesday at their NCAA regional competition in West Lafayette, Indiana, to secure a spot in the championship round. Vanderbilt (-24) and Purdue (-11) placed in first and second, respectively, with Arizona (-3) and New Mexico (-2) also qualifying for nationals after finishing fourth and fifth.

Sophomore Parker Bell (-4) and freshman Jack Turner (-1) led the way for the Gators, who advanced to their fourth consecutive NCAA championship and the 57th overall in program history. Seeking its sixth national championship, UF has now made the championship round in 20 of the past 22 tournaments.

“[Returning to nationals was] probably our No. 1 goal,” Florida head coach J.C. Deacon said. “When you start the year, [the goal is] to make sure you’re playing for that tournament. Nothing’s ever guaranteed or promised at regionals. You’re playing with your season on the line from the first tee shot to the last, and that’s a big moment.

“That’s what I’m most proud of, is how hard we’ve worked. It just didn’t start [over] the last month and it wasn’t a cram session. They started back in August. I usually see with a team when the stakes get really high, that’s when you play to your work ethic. We’ve worked really hard this year, so I think that’s why we were able to perform so well today under that pressure.”

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Parker Bell Emerges as a Star

In his first postseason run as a Gator, Bell has continued to exceed expectations. The Tallahassee native shot back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds at the Kampen-Cosler Course on the campus of Purdue and finished the final day with an even-par 72. His 4-under score for the week tied him for eighth individually, finishing three back of medalist William Moll of Vanderbilt

Bell only had one bogey in his first 18 holes in the regional. After struggling with two bogeys on holes 3-5 on day two, he turned it around with three birdies and a bogey-less back nine.

“It’s what I came here to do. I’m living the dream,” Bell said. “I can’t be more excited to get to compete for a national championship with my guys. That was my goal coming into this year. I want to be one of the guys hitting the shots if we made it back. I’m glad that you know in in a week, that’s what I’m going to be able to do.”

An Up-And-Down Regional

The Gators’ journey in West Lafayette was not an easy one.

After Day 1, Florida sat in fourth on the team leaderboard after a windy day on the course. This was the worst day for the Gators as they shot 1-over 289. UF was led by junior Ian Gilligan and Bell. who were the only Gators to shoot under par in Round 1.

Florida’s early struggles took the team up and down the leaderboard, as it fell to as low as 13th at one point.

However, the Gators bounced back on Day 2. Florida shot 2-under 285, improving by four shots. Even with the improved play, due to solid performances by Arizona and New Mexico in pristine weather conditions, the Gators dropped to fifth.

After shooting 4-over 76 in the first round Monday, Turner made a serious improvement in the following two rounds. In his first collegiate regional, the Orlando native shot a 2-under 70 in Round 2 and followed with a 3-under 69 in the final round.

Florida would conclude the 54-hole tournament with 2-under 286 on Wednesday, good enough to qualify for the championship by 12 strokes.

“It’s really impressive what they’re doing,” Deacon said of Turner and Bell. “Both of them have worked extremely hard and are very coachable. They’re putting a lot of the lessons they’ve learned already this year to work and playing with a ton of confidence, and probably the best part about it is they’re best friends and really, really close.”

Fifth-year senior John DuBois finished 3-over for the tournament, while sophomore Matthew Kress was at 7-over. The quintet will have to play well in the championships in order for the Gators to have a chance to go back-to-back.

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The Road to Carlsbad

Florida now heads to the Omni La Costa (Champions Course) in Carlsbad, California, to begin the championship round Friday.

All 30 teams that qualified for nationals next will compete in 54 holes of stroke play. Following those 54 holes, the top 15 teams advance to play one more additional day of stroke play (May 27) to determine the top eight teams that will reach the match-play competition. Those top eight teams after 72 holes of play then will be placed into a bracket, and match play begins May 28.

Florida made it to the match-play portion, which started in 2009, for the first time last season. The Gators defeated a trio of ACC foes – Virginia, Florida State and Georgia Tech – in match play en route to their fifth national title.

“That was my goal coming into this year,” Bell said. “I want to be one of the guys hitting the shots if we made it back. I’m glad that you know in a week, that’s what I’m going to be able to do.”