Gators hold on in final round, win third consecutive Sea Best Invitational
Florida won its seventh team victory at the Sea Best Invitational and fifth time under head coach J.C. Deacon.
Photo By: Katie Park
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Gators hold on in final round, win third consecutive Sea Best Invitational

Matthew Hutchison
Ian Gilligan finished runner-up with seven Gators in the top 15. 

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Florida men's golf team held off North Florida's comeback efforts, for its third consecutive victory at the Sea Best Invitational on Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass.

The Gators shot a team score of 842 (+2) for a three-shot win and back-to-back to start the spring. It was the seventh overall victory at the event and fifth under head coach J.C. Deacon. Deacon has now guided the Gators to 24 team victories in his 10th season. 

A total of 10 UF golfers competed on the week with seven finishing in the top 15; Ian Gilligan (2), Tyler Wilkes (T4), Luke Poulter (6), Jack Turner (T7), Parker Bell (T7), Miguel Leal (12) and Quentin Debove (T15). The finishes of Bell and Poulter marked career-bests for the second-year players. Poulter had the second-lowest round of the day with a 3-under 67 going bogey-free on the back nine and three consecutive birdies to start. 

Florida entered the final round with a seven-shot lead that was erased by UNF midway through the final 18 holes. The Ospreys took a one-shot advantage when both teams were at holes 12-14. Then a 4-under stretch on 15 (par-4, 402) and 16 (par-5, 559) moved Florida back in the lead and Gilligan closed out the third win of the season with a birdie on 18, bouncing back from a bogey the hole prior. He finished runner-up by a shot for his best finish as a Gator.

John DuBois sparked UF's late-round push with a birdie on 16. He nearly chipped in with his ball bouncing off near the bottom of the flag stick. He then added some insurance with a birdie on 18. The fifth-year senior finished T33. 

The next three birdies all came from each of the final three Gators in Turner (16), Wilkes (15) and Gilligan (15) on the deciding stretch at the Dye's Valley Course.

The Gators will host the Gators Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course from Feb. 17-18. 
 
Place Name Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Rd. 3 Score
2 Ian Gilligan  70 67 69 206
T4 Tyler Wilkes  71 68 70 209
6 Luke Poulter (I) 72 71 67 210
T7 Jack Turner 71 70 70 211
T7 Parker Bell (I) 73 69 69 211
12 Miguel Leal (I) 73 70 70 213
T15 Quentin Debove (I) 71 72 72 215
T28 Matthew Kress 74 71 73 218
T33 John DuBois 74 74 71 219
T43 Ryan Hart (I) 73 75 73 221
 
Place School Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Rd. 3 Score Par
1 Florida 286 276 280 842 +2
2 North Florida 288 281 276 845 +5
3 Louisville 291 283 284 858 +18
4 Cal Poly 297 285 281 863 +23
5 Florida Gulf Coast U 294 284 287 865 +25
6 UTSA 297 280 289 866 +26
7 Lipscomb 293 288 288 869 +29
8 Kennesaw State 289 297 286 872 +32
9 Louisiana Tech 297 288 288 873 +33
10 Campbell 300 296 280 876 +36
11 Liberty 293 294 292 879 +39
12 Florida Atlantic 296 293 297 886 +46
13 UCF 303 293 295 891 +51
14 Jacksonville 296 289 307 892 +52
15 USC Upstate 309 297 297 903 +63


    
 
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