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Florida men’s golf team faces Vanderbilt on Saturday in the match play quarterfinals of the SEC Championship in St. Simon Islands, Georgia.
It marks the third consecutive season the Gators and Commodores meet in match play at the championship. Both of the previous meetings were in the final with each team splitting wins in 2022 (Vanderbilt) and 2023 (Florida).
The top eight teams in the field advanced to match play following three days of stroke play. The Gators placed sixth in stroke play, shooting a 830 (-10) to secure match-play qualification.
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Turner In Good Company With Runner-Up Finish
Jack Turner became the first Gators true freshmen to finish runner-up at the SEC Championship since Camilo Villegas in 2001.
Turner shot a total score of 204 (-6) in three rounds of stroke play to finish tied for second with Matthew Riedel (Vanderbilt), Daniel Rodrigues (Texas A&M) and Hunter Logan (Mississippi State). Auburn’s Jackson Koivun’s score of 198 (-12) by shooting 66 (-4) in three consecutive days secured the individual title by six shots.
Turner shot 71 (+1) Friday to hold his second-place status on the leaderboard going into day three.
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Gators Look to Defend SEC Title with New Faces
Florida defeated Vanderbilt in the match play finals last season to claim the program’s first SEC title since 2011.
The Gators’ lineup featured Yuxin Lin, Ricky Castillo, John DuBois and Fred Biondi, who won the individual title. All four players were named on the 2023 Division I PING All-America teams.
This year’s Gators team only features one player from last year’s conference championship team: Sophomore Matthew Kress.
He was also featured in the Gators’ lineup for the National Championship last season.
In stroke play, Kress shot a total score of 212 (+2) in three rounds, finishing tied for 36th with senior Tyler Wilkes.
Today's matchups ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/LTZAylPlQX
— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) April 27, 2024
Jack Turner teed off against Vanderbilt senior Cole Sherwood on Saturday to open the Gators’ quarterfinal round.
