The four selections were tied for the most among any teams as Ian Gilligan (second team), Jack Turner (third team), Matthew Kress (honorable mention) and Luke Poulter (honorable mention) earned the honors.
NORMAN, Okla. – Four Florida men’s golfers in Ian Gilligan, Matthew Kress, Luke Poulter and Jack Turner earned PING All-American honors on Monday, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced.
The four selections were tied for the most among any team with Arizona State, Auburn, and Oklahoma – three teams that the Gators had success against in the postseason; defeated Oklahoma and Auburn in SEC Championship match play en route to 17th conference title and beat the Sun Devils in for the NCAA Bremerton Region Title.
Gilligan (second team), Turner (third team) and Poulter (honorable mention) all collected their second all-american nod this season while Kress (honorable mention) added his career first. This is the second time in three years Florida had four honorees in a single-season.
Collecting his sixth total all-american honor, Gilligan wrapped up his collegiate career and second season with the Gators behind a T13 (-1) finish in stroke play and the match-clinching point (1Up) in the quarterfinals at the NCAA National Championship. He also finished No. 4 in the final PGA Tour University Rankings earning him Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the season along with Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School with 2026 membership in the PGA TOUR Americas through the Latin America Swing. He made professional debut this week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am last week and shot a second round of 6-under 65
The Reno, N.V. native, finished as the Gators leader in stroke average (70.6), low-18 (65), low-36 (133) low-54 (202), average relation to par-18 (-0.53) and 54 (-1.6), top-5s (4), top-10s (6), top-25s (8), rounds counted percentage (96.7), birdies per round (3.6), eagles (5), even and under par rounds (21) and tournaments (8). He went undefeated in postseason match play (3-0-1-1) while he won his sixth collegiate tournament at the Gators Invitational this season at 8-under and in a two-hole playoff.
Earning the top finish at the NCAA National Championships, Kress finished T9 at 3-under behind three straight rounds of under par (71-69-70) that awarded him All-Tournament team. He also had the best finish in the lineup at NCAA Regionals with a runner-up performance at 11-under. After a rough fall of no better finish of T45, Kress had a strong spring with three consecutive finishes of T9 and finished with a stroke average of 71.9 – fourth best on the team
Kress also graduated this spring with Summa Cum Laude distinction and earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics. His round of 65 was tied for the lowest round on the team this season as his 11-under tournament score was team best. In postseason match play, he had two big victories with a 5&4 win vs. Texas A&M in the SEC Championship Finals and a 3&1 victory against Texas in the National Championship Quarterfinals.
Poulter became a staple in the Gators lineup this spring and shined in his first career postseason action. He began with a 3-0 mark in the SEC Championship Match Play with victories of 4&2 (Quarterfinals), 3&2 (Semifinals) and 4&3 (Finals). Poulter also had a final round of 2-under in stroke play at the conference tournament as across 47 holes played in match play, he won 18, tied 23 and only lost six.
At the NCAA Regional in Bremerton, he finished T4 at 10-under with all three rounds under par and bogey-free 3-under 67. He won his first collegiate tournament at the Schenkel Invitational at 8-under, marking the sixth Gator golfer to win the event. He also opened with back-to-back rounds of 70 (-2) in his National Championship debut.
Turner collected the accolade for the second consecutive season behind earning postseason honors of All-SEC, All-Region. He was recently the Team USA coach’s pick for the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup, which begins on Friday. The sophomore was right behind Gilligan in top categories as he was second in stroke average (71.0) and lead in birdies (117) and total rounds counted (31). He finished tied for team-best in top-10s (6), top-25s (8), even and under rounds (21)
At the SEC Championship, he won the match-clinching point in the semifinals against the No. 1 player in college golf and back-to-back SEC Individual Champion, Jackson Koivun of Auburn, the reigning SEC and NCAA Champions. In stroke play, Turner shot all three rounds in the 60s for a T16 4-under outing. At the Bremerton Regional, he finished T12 for his fourth career top-23 in five career postseason events.
Postseason Awards – Florida Gators 2024-2025 Season
* J.C. Deacon – NCAA DI Southeast Region Coach of the Year
* Ian Gilligan – PING & Golfweek Second-Team All-American, PING All-Region, First-Team All-SEC
* Matthew Kress – PING Honorable Mention All-American, NCAA All-Tournament Team
* Luke Poulter – PING Honorable Mention & Golfweek Third-Team All-American, PING All-Region
* Jack Turner – PING Third-Team & Golfweek Honorable Mention All-American, PING All-Region, Second-Team All-SEC
* Zack Swanwick – Freshman All-SEC
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