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Florida men’s golf surged five spots in its final round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate tournament on Tuesday. The Gators tied for fifth in a tournament where nine of the 15 competing teams are in the NCAA D1 top 25.
After rough +19 and +7 rounds on days one and two in Las Vegas, the Gators shot their only under-par round (-7) in a road tournament this spring season. Florida’s 7-under-par tied No. 2 Auburn University, the tournaments winner (-9), for the lowest round of the collegiate match.
Sophomore Jack Turner led all Gators with an eighth-place finish in the individual leaderboard. This is Turner’s fifth top 10 finish of his career and 11th par or better round this season, leading the team in both categories.
Early Struggles
The Gators starting five looked a little different than their victorious lineup at the Gators Invitational, with freshman Zach Swanwick subbing in for freshman Parker Sands in the starting five. Florida’s golfers started rusty, all shooting unusually high rounds.
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The 19-over-par finish on day one was Florida’s lowest round of the 2024 – 25 season, but it isn’t as bad as it looks. University of Nevada, Las Vegas‘ (UNLV) home course, Southern Highlands, is a difficult par 72. Only Auburn finished under-par in the 54-hole stroke-play tournament.
UF’s number one golfer, senior Ian Gilligan, shot his worst round of the spring season on day one of the tournament.
Shots Fall, Gators Rise
The Gators were much improved on days two and three, shooting seven-over and seven-under.
Turner shot the Gators’ best score of round two, going -1 with four birdies, one bogie and one double bogey.
The rest of Florida’s scored golfers (top four performers) shot over-par, despite a collective 14 birdies. In addition to Turner, Swanwick (+3) and sophomore Luke Poulter (+2) also made four birdies, but too many bogeys put them above par.
Individual golfer Matthew Kress finished ninth in individual scoring, shooting 2-under-par with a very clean round and only one bogey.
Onto round three, the Gators were buzzing. Whatever coach J.C. Deacon told his squad worked because not one Florida golfer in counted scoring shot above par. Turner had UF’s best round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate. He made five birdies and just one bogey to score him four-under-par.
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Turner, Swanwick (-2) and freshman Rylan Shim (-1) all flew up the individual leaderboard by double digit positions. Although Poulter (+1) didn’t score high enough to be used in the Gators’ team score in round three, he did make Florida’s only eagle, three-stroking hole nine, a 592-yard par 5.
Florida rose five spots in the team leaderboard to give them a top five finish. The Gators shared the fifth spot with Pepperdine, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
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Two regular-season tournaments remain. The Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Georgia, starts March 21, while the Calusa Cup in Naples, FL starts April 6.
