The Florida Gators men’s golf squad opened up its spring action at the Southwest Invitational at Pepperdine University in Thousand Oaks, California, finishing in ____ place amidst daunting opposition. The No. 14 Gators competed against six other ranked teams in the tournament: No. 5 Texas, No. 10 UCLA, No. 11 Arizona, No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 19 Pepperdine and No. 24 Duke. Other schools present at the event included California, Chattanooga, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, USC and Washington.
Even though the three-day match marks the 46th annual Southwest Invitational, this is the Gators' first appearance since 1987. Florida also finished third in the same tournament in the year prior in 1986.
Florida rolled out an experienced lineup for the invitational, consisting of senior Ian Gilligan, sophomore Jack Turner, junior Parker Bell, sophomore Luke Poulter, freshman Zack Swanwick and junior individual performer Matthew Kress.
Day One
The Gators limped out to a sluggish start on day one. Florida’s combined score of 293 (+9) was only good for a tie with Cal for eighth after the opening 18 holes, 17 strokes behind invitational leader San Diego State.
Kress proved to be the standout for the Gators on day one. The junior shot two under (-2) in individual play, including an eagle on the fourth hole. Kress ended up as one of 15 golfers who shot under par on the opening day.
Out of the five golfers in the Gator lineup, Swanwick came away with the best performance on the opening 18. Swanwick shot an even 71, balancing four bogeys with four birdies en route to a 16th-place standing.
Following Swanwick were Florida’s two preseason Ben Hogan Award watch list golfers, Gilligan and Turner. Gilligan, currently ranked 10th in the country, shot a +1 on opening day, while Turner managed a +3. Rounding out the Gators lineup was a +5 performance from Poulter and a +9 out of Bell.
Day Two
Tuesday was much kinder to the Gators, who shot a -3 to bring their total score to 574 (+6); good for sixth place in the Invitational. The comeback from a shaky opening 18 placed Florida only behind UNLV (-4), Texas (-2), San Diego St (-2), Vanderbilt (+1) and Pepperdine (+3). Interestingly enough, out of the four top 15 teams involved in the tournament, only No. 5 Texas held a spot in the top five after the first two days.
Gilligan led the way for Florida with another stellar performance in his senior campaign that has placed him among the top golfers in the country. Gilligan turned in a -4 showing, led by an early eagle and a string of late bogeys. This impressive outing propelled Gilligan into a tie for third place in the invitational.
Turner continued his impressive start with a -2 on Tuesday, landing him in 16th place heading into the final day. Matching Turner’s performance was Poulter, who turned around a turbulent showing on Monday with a -2 of his own.
Rounding out the Florida lineup on Tuesday, Swanwick and Bell each shot a +5. Swanwick fell 20 spots to a 38th place ranking, while a struggling Bell sat at 70th place.
On the individual front, Kress was unable to keep up with his hot start from Monday, shooting a +6 after being the only Gator to shoot under par on day one. Kress dropped out of the top ten total scores and ended up at 34th place heading into day three.
Day Three
Florida continued its hot hand across the board on Wednesday in the tournament’s final 18. Coming into the day at a +6 in sixth place, the Gators still had their work cut out for them to turn a decent showing into an impressive one.
After finishing eighth on day one and sixth on day two, the Gators climbed into fifth place in a competitive day three.
Gilligan and Turner led the charge once again for UF, as the pair each shot under par for the second consecutive day.
Turner turned in the best result of the Gators’ lineup, posting a 69 (-2) to fall under par for his three-day total. Turner ended the tournament at a -1, making him one of 12 players who finished the tournament under par.
Meanwhile, Gilligan turned in a respectable 70 (-1) on the final day to bring his three-day total to -4. That was good for a tie for second-best in the entire invitational, only being bested by Vanderbilt junior Wells Williams, who posted a -5.
After a disappointing round two that saw him relinquish his team-best total with a +5 on Tuesday, Swanwick turned in his second day total of the tournament at par, with a 13th-hole triple bogey offsetting a very impressive front nine that saw him tally three birdies.
Poulter and Bell rounded out the Gators’ lineup on the final day, shooting +2 and +7 respectively. It was a disappointing final day for Poulter, who was unable to capitalize on the momentum of his Tuesday bounce back.
Kress wrapped up an up-and-down tournament with a steadier performance in his individual heat on Wednesday, posting a 72 (+1) on the final day to bring his three-day total to a +5.
The Gators will be back in action for the Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostic Golf Course on Feb. 15 and 16.
Contact Josh Stevens at JStevens1@alligator.org Follow him on X @josh.stevens.15.
