Florida shot a 1-under 287 to climb four spots into 8th and advancing to the final round of stroke play.
CARLSBAD, Calif. – A quick start by the Florida men’s golf team in round three of the NCAA National Championship on Sunday helped advance the Gators into the final round of stroke play and in great position to reach match play tomorrow.
Teeing off with three shots inside the top-15 cut and tied for 12th, Florida went low right out of the gates and at one point was 9-under on the front nine tied for 6th and got to 10-under approaching the turn. The Gators would make the turn 7-under to take on the difficult back nine and closed the day with a 1-under 287 to finish in 8th at 884 (+20). The 1-under round was its first under par round of the tournament and fourth in the last seven rounds in the NCAAs. It was also is tied for the third-lowest team round as leader Illinois claims the best with a 6-under 282 coming today.
The Gators advance to the fourth round of stroke play for the sixth time in program history and fourth under head coach J.C. Deacon. It marks the third consecutive season reaching the final 18 as the match play format was added in 2009.
Florida tees off the fourth round of stroke play tomorrow at 11:51 a.m. PT / 2:51 p.m. ET and are paired with Auburn (T6, +15) and Arizona (T9, +21) going off hole 10. UF has a one-shot lead for the final match play spot and looks to become the ninth team to reach match play after winning the national championship a season ago.
Golf Channel will broadcast the final round of stroke play starting at 6 p.m. ET
Ian Gilligan set the early pace with Florida’s first of 12 birdies on the first nine holes. His long birdie putt from the backside of the green on one produced five in his round for 12 total through 54-holes, ranking T2 in the field. The junior was 3-under at the turn and finished with his best round of the week with a 1-under 71 behind an important birdie on 18.
The second Gator to card a 1-under 71 was California native Matthew Kress. After 9-over in the opening round and 6-over yesterday, his under par performance was his third par or better round at the NCAAs in seven total rounds. He had a stretch of three consecutive birdies on holes 2-4.
Adding to the nine-under charge through the first 18 counting holes, Jack Turner went par-birdie-par-birdie to start his third round at Omni La Costa. The freshman closed out his even-par 72 outing with a great par putt on the 18th hole to hold Florida in 8th place. He sits T18 with a 54-hole score of 2-over 218.
Another clutch birdie on the final hole came from John DuBois. The 5th year senior secured another big moment as his birdie sent the Gators into sole possession of 8th and out of a three-way tie. He bounced back from a 6-over round two for a 1-over 73 today. DuBois was bogey-free 2-under on the front nine and started the turn with a birdie.
UF’s counting scores featured two 1-under 71s, an even par 72 and 1-over 73 while the only non-counting score from Parker Bell’s 5-over 77.
Quotes – Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On today’s performance…
“I’m very proud of the Gators today. We had to have a great round and we got it. We’re right back in this thing. Opportunities like tomorrow is exactly why we work so hard all year long.”
On message to team going into today…
“The first two rounds we did not commit to being the patient and discipline team we need to be. That changed today and we got rewarded. Shooting under par in those conditions is exceptional.”
On Ian Gilligan and Matthew Kress stepping up today with 1-under rounds…
“Getting red numbers from [Matthew] Kress and [Ian] Gilligan today was so huge. They’ve been pillars in our lineup all year and we needed them to produce. Everyone feels good about their game. I’m excited to watch them perform on this stage tomorrow.”
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