Florida recorded a 5-under final two holes as Luke Poulter is tied for 5th behind his second consecutive 2-under 70.
CARLSBAD, Calif. – The Florida men’s golf team continued its trend of finishing strong with a 5-under final two holes to sit 4th at 5-under through two rounds of the National Championship on Saturday at Omni La Costa.
The Gators have recorded back-to-back rounds of under par this week with a 2-under 286, tied for the third-lowest round today. The last time UF shot consecutive rounds under par at the National Championship was 2023 in round two (-2) and three (-1) as the last occurrence of two-plus under par back-to-back at the National Championships was the first two rounds in 2006: 4-under & 3-under.
Florida is one of five teams under par currently as Arizona State (-13) is the tournament leader behind an 11-under round this morning. The rest of the team leaderboard features Oklahoma (-10) and Auburn (-8) as the trio UF has gone up against this postseason with victories over Oklahoma (3-2) and Auburn (3.5-1.5) in SEC Championship match play and three-shot victory over the Sun Devils at the Bremerton Regional.
Tomorrow UF will tee off at 9:52 a.m. ET and paired with Florida State (-1) and Texas (E) beginning off hole 10 as the top-15 teams after Sunday’s round advance to the final round of stroke play Monday and then the top-8 at the end of 72-holes earn a spot in match play. The NCAA Individual Champion will also be determined following Monday’s final round of stroke play. Right now, the Orange and Blue are 17 shots inside top-15 and nine above the top-8.
The Gators look to advance to fourth and final round of stroke play for the seventh time in program history and fifth time under head coach J.C. Deacon, who was named one of five finalists for the National Coach of the Year this morning. It would be the third four straight season reaching the final 18-holes in the match play era, that began in 2009.
Across all Florida’s eight post season rounds, all have been under par – in order of rounds.
* SEC Championship: -5, -1, -10
* NCAA Regionals: -9, -16, -3
* National Championships: -3, -2
The last time Florida shot over par in a round was on April 6 in the opening round of the Calusa Cup as the Gators closed the final regular season tournament behind a 17-under final round to defend its team title and third victory at the time.
After making the turn even-par, Florida quickly found itself 3-over through 14 holes after counting two double bogeys on the 14th (par4 428 yards), playing the hardest hole this week. However, the lineup finished strong with a 6-under mark across holes 15-18 with three birdies on the final hole as senior Ian Gilligan led the charge with three birdies and back-to-back on the 17th and 18th. He finished with an even-par 72 and is 1-under through two rounds and tied for 18th
Also tied in 18th with Gilligan is freshman Zack Swanwick, who had bogey-free 1-under first nine holes. He regrouped from a late double bogey and bogey with a birdie on 17 for a 73 (+1).
Making the turn 2-over, Matthew Kress (T45) who was playing in his 38th career postseason round, finished bogey-free 3-under for a 1-under 71. He made a four-shot improvement from his round one.
Continuing his stellar play in his postseason debut, Luke Poulter turned in his second straight 2-under 70. In eight postseason rounds, seven are for par or better and six have been for under par. He is 4-under and five shots back of the lead in T5.
The non-counting score today was from Jack Turner at 74 (+2), who earned PING All-Region honors for the second time along with Gilligan (third) and Poulter (first).
Post Round Quotes – Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On today’s finish…
“It’s just kind of what we’ve been doing lately. We don’t get discouraged, we can take a punch and keep fighting. The guys did that today with a tricky back nine. Holes 12-14 out here are extremely difficult and we got beat up there a little bit. But a tremendous finish that puts us in a great spot halfway through the tournament.”
On how Associate Head Coach Dudley Hart has helped this postseason…
“Dudley’s everything to our program. His work ethic and commitment to the Florida Gators is exactly the example that I would ever dream of in a partner in coaching. He’s obviously one of my best friends in the whole world, and I trust him with my life. We got something really special here at Florida. The guys really enjoy being around him and trust him a ton. He’s a superstar coach and we’re lucky to have him.”
On Luke Poulter this postseason…
“There’s been a lot of people asking me in the golf world in the last year, is Luke Poulter the real deal? And I think he is answering that question on his own. He continues to play really solid. I was really excited about yesterday because he didn’t have his best game and was still able to shoot two under par. Then today he puts up another under par round with that big birdie on 18. He is a staple in our lineup. A very competitive young man with great pedigree and we’re thrilled he is a Florida Gator.”
Florida Leaderboard
Place
Name
Total Score
Total Par
Rd. 1 Score
Rd. 1 Par
Rd. 2 Score
Rd. 2 Par
T5
Luke Poulter<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/luke-poulter/16888>
140
-4
70
-2
70
-2
T18
Zack Swanwick<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/zack-swanwick/16892>
143
-1
70
-2
73
+1
T18
Ian Gilligan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/ian-gilligan/16884>
143
-1
71
-1
72
E
T45
Matthew Kress<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/matthew-kress/16886>
146
+2
75
+3
71
-1
T64
Jack Turner<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/jack-turner/16890>
148
+4
74
+2
74
+2
Team Leaderboard
Place
School
Total Score
Total Par
Rd. 1 Score
Rd. 1 Par
Rd. 2 Score
Rd. 2 Par
1
Arizona State
563
-13
286
-2
277
-11
2
Oklahoma
566
-10
280
-8
286
-2
3
Auburn
568
-8
286
-2
282
-6
4
Florida
571
-5
285
-3
286
-2
5
Florida State
575
-1
285
-3
290
+2
6
Texas
576
E
285
-3
291
+3
7
Oklahoma State
578
+2
293
+5
285
-3
8
Ole Miss
580
+4
293
+5
287
-1
9
Illinois
583
+7
286
-2
297
+9
10
California
584
+8
289
+1
295
+7
11
Virginia
586
+10
299
+11
287
-1
T12
Colorado
587
+11
289
+1
298
+10
T12
Pepperdine
587
+11
293
+5
294
+6
T12
Georgia Tech
587
+11
293
+5
294
+6
T15
Vanderbilt
588
+12
294
+6
294
+6
T15
Texas A&M
588
+12
297
+9
291
+3
T15
Wake Forest
588
+12
296
+8
292
+4
18
Brigham Young
589
+13
289
+1
300
+12
19
Texas Tech
590
+14
292
+4
298
+10
20
South Carolina
595
+19
302
+14
293
+5
21
Georgia
597
+21
291
+3
306
+18
22
UCLA
598
+22
301
+13
297
+9
23
UNLV
599
+23
299
+11
300
+12
T24
Tennessee
600
+24
304
+16
296
+8
T24
Troy
600
+24
292
+4
308
+20
26
Purdue
601
+25
307
+19
294
+6
T27
New Mexico
602
+26
297
+9
305
+17
T27
USF
602
+26
293
+5
309
+21
29
Augusta
605
+29
295
+7
310
+22
30
San Diego
610
+34
294
+6
316
+28
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