Luke Poulter Earns First Collegiate Win at Schenkel Invitational

Florida finished second on Sunday at the 54-hole Schenkel Invitational as sophomore Luke Poulter (-8) worked to score his first collegiate individual win.

The Gators shot 21-under in Statesboro, GA, at the Georgia Southern hosted invitational, one stroke behind Utah (-22). UF has finished top 5 in all four stroke play tournaments played this spring season. It’s Florida’s third top-3 of the 2024 – 25 season.

After missing the fall season with an injury, Poulter is back in full swing. He’s golfed well this spring, factoring heavily into Florida’s top finishes, including his collegiate career low 207 tournament score at the Gators Invitational. Good golf was expected of Poulter in Statesboro, but a champion finish was not.

Poulter shot even or better in all three rounds. He tied his career best round with a 67 in the first 18. Three birdies paired with his third eagle of the season immediately sent him atop the leaderboard, where he never gave up the lead. His 8-under-par performance marks his third under-par tournament of his career. Poulter’s previous best finish was a 6th-place performance at this year’s Gators Invitational.

https://twitter.com/GatorsGolf/status/1903951633874100595

Other Performances

Senior and Florida’s No. 1 golfer Ian Gilligan (-7) finished second in the individual ranking. He surged six spots in the final round, tying sophomore Jack Turner for the Gators’ second-best round. It’s his 14th collegiate top-5. Currently 5th in PGA TOUR U rankings, Gilligan continues to build his resume with graduation looming.

Junior Matthew Kress (-3) placed T9. His best round was the first 18, shooting 3-under with a bogey-free back nine.

Turner finished T27, though his placement skews his performance. A rough +5 first round tanked his score, but Turner battled back with an even second round and a 4-under round three to help the Gators earn their second-place finish.

Freshman Zack Swanwick ended T31, the worst out of Florida’s starting five. He had a slow start, shooting over-par in the first two rounds, but finished the tournament nicely with a 2-under round to contribute to UF’s scoring.

Freshman Parker Sands (-3) and redshirt freshman Rylan Shim (+11) were UF’s individual performers. Sands finished T9, tying his best collegiate finish. He scored under-par in two of three rounds, totaling seven under-par rounds in his last nine. Shim struggled most of the event, shooting his best on day two with a -2 round that included an eagle on the par-5, 526-yard hole 9.

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Next Up

One tournament remains in the regular season for Florida men’s golf. The squad heads to Naples, FL, for the Calusa Cup from April 6 – 8.

The SEC Championship begins April 23.