Florida recorded its most inconsistent performance of the season in the first round of the Williams Cup on Sunday. The Gators, though, rallied behind a season-best 11-under 277 score in the final round on Tuesday to secure fourth place out of the 13 teams represented at the Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina.
UF sophomore Jack Turner played a key role for the Gators through all three rounds. He earned team-best scores of 1-over 73 in round one and 2-under 70 in round two. After sinking a par five birdie on hole four in the second round, he finished 5-under 67 in round three. The Orlando native placed fourth on the individual leaderboard at 6-under 210.
Freshman Zack Swanwick also significantly contributed to Florida’s comeback effort. He recorded a 6-under 66 score and played bogey-free golf in round three, which was his best of the season.
Swanwick, who has appeared in the starting lineup in three-straight matches for the Gators, also pushed Florida past its competition with a 2-under 70 finish in round three. He earned his first top-ten placement with a 3-under 213 finish.
Florida juniors Matthew Kress and Parker Bell alongside redshirt freshman Rylan Shim struggled for the majority of the event outside of round three. Kress recorded a team-high 9-over 153 through the first two rounds while Bell and Shim narrowly trailed at 5-over and 8-over, respectively.
Kress, Bell and Shim bounced back in the third round Tuesday. None of the Gators competing finished more than 2-over, and Kress made a notable seven-shot improvement from the second round with a 1-under 71 third round.
Florida’s third round marked a 24-shot improvement from the first round. Four UF starters recorded back-to-back birdies in round three, allowing it to finish ahead of North Carolina State by creating a nine-shot gap on the final day of competition.
The Gators dug themselves into a deep hole early, though. Florida finished the first round with seven double bogeys and a triple bogey. Moreover, four Gators did not score better than 3-over 75. Shim especially struggled in the first round as he recorded double bogeys on holes three, seven and 11.
Round two marked a turning point for Florida and paved the way for its third round performance. The Gators improved 14 shots from the first round and raced past North Florida, which UF had trailed by as many as nine shots in the previous round.
UF concluded the event 1-over 865, one spot ahead of NC State and 13 shots behind third-place Auburn.
Florida’s Fall season comes to an end with three top-five finishes and a season-best performance in its final round of the first half of the 2024-25 season. The Gators will return to action at the Southwestern Invitational in Thousand Oaks, California at the Sherwood Country Club. The 54-hole event will take place Jan. 27-29.
Contact Aiden Wacksman at awacksman@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @aidenwacksman.
