Florida Gators

LAS VEGAS - Florida men's golfer Ian Gilligan won his first tournament as a Gator at the Southern Highlands Collegiate on Tuesday. The victory earns him an exemption into the PGA Tour's Shriners Children's Open later this October. 
 
The Gators finished fourth with a team score of 868 (+4) for the fifth team top-5 finish of the season. Oklahoma won the event at 8-under followed by Auburn (-5) and Texas (+2).
 
Gilligan's victory marked back-to-back medalist honors at the tournament by a Gator as Yuxin Lin, who was also a transfer, and last year's champion. Gilligan is the fourth UF golfer to win at the Southern Highlands, joining Sam Horsfield (2016) and Camilo Villegas (2004). The win marked the fifth of Gilligan's career. 

The native of Reno, N.V., Gilligan has put together a hot start in the spring with nine consecutive rounds of par or better, eight straight under-par rounds and finishes of 2-3-1. Through the first three spring tournaments he owns a stroke average of 69.3 and a match play victory.  
 
He entered the day two shots back of the lead and went on to win with a 54-hole score of 208 (-8). Gilligan recorded all three rounds under par; 67-71-70. The Long Beach State transfer made the turn with a one-shot lead and pulled away behind three consecutive birdies on holes 11-12, a stretch of a par-4, par-3 and par-5.
 
The individual victory is the 23rd under head coach J.C. Deacon. Gilligan joins Matthew Kress, who won snagged his first collegiate win in the fall at the Georgetown Intercollegiate. Kress had the next best finish in T29.
 
The pair of Parker Bell and Luke Poulter both finished tied for 46th, followed by individual John DuBois T68. Two shots behind Kress was Tyler Wilkes at T34.
 
Florida has two weeks off before returning to action at the Schenkel Invitational (March 15-17) at Forest Heights in Statesboro, Ga. and then the regular season finale at the Calusa Cup (April 7-9) in Naples, Fla.