Florida Gators

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Friday, May 24 - Wednesday, May 29
Location: Carlsbad, Calif. - Omni La Costa: North Course
Host: NCAA / University of Texas 
Course Par/Yardage: 72 / 7,538 yards
Tee Times: 4:17 p.m. on Friday and 10:57 a.m. on Saturday, TBD other days
Scoring: Golfstat 
Watch: Golf Channel 
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
 
LINEUP
No. 1 - Ian Gilligan
No. 2 - Parker Bell
No. 3 - Matthew Kress
No. 4 - John DuBois
No. 5 - Jack Turner 
Alternate - Quentin Debove

TEE OFF
The reigning national champion Florida men's golf team begins the NCAA National Championship on Friday at 1:17 p.m. PT / 4:17 p.m. ET at Omni La Costa (North Course). Round two is set for 7:57 a.m. PT / 10:57 p.m. ET.

Florida enters as the No. 12 seed and are paired with No. 10 Arizona and No. 11 Illinois.   

FORMAT
Play consists of four days of stroke play (18 each day) starting Friday, which features a 54-hole cut with the top-15 teams and nine individuals on a non-advancing team a spot in the final round of stroke play on Monday.

After the final 18 holes, the top-8 teams will advance to match play and a 72-hole individual champion is crowned. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format features the quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, followed by the finals on Wednesday.

HOW TO WATCH
Golf Channel will start its broadcast of the tournament on Monday, May 27 for the final round of stroke play starting a 6 p.m. On Tuesday, May 28 quarterfinal coverage will go from 12-2:30 p.m. followed by the semifinals broadcasted starting at 6 p.m. The finals match broadcast begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Florida will make its 57th NCAA Championships experience, which leads the SEC and ranks fifth-most in the country. The Gators have only missed qualifying twice under head coach J.C. Deacon. UF has claimed five national titles - 1968, 1973, 1993, 2001, 2023 - which ranks tied for most among SEC schools and eighth all-time. The program has also finished runner-up four times (1967, 1974, 1990, 2006) for a total 18 top-5 finishes.

UF has made the championship in 20 of the last 22 tournaments as its 57th appearance is fifth most in the nation behind Oklahoma State (75), Texas (68), USC (58) and Arizona State (58). Individually, Florida has touted the top finisher three times- Bob Murphy in 1966, Nick Gilliam in 2001 and Fred Biondi in 2023.

COMPETING TEAMS (Seed Number)
No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Arizona, No. 11 Illinois, No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 14 East Tennessee State, No. 15 California, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 17 New Mexico, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Purdue, No. 20 Stanford, No. 21 Wake Forest, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 23 Baylor, No. 24 Ohio State, No. 25 North Florida, No. 26 LSU, No. 27 SMU, No. 28 Clemson, No. 29 West Virginia and No. 30 Utah 

COMPETING INDIVIDUALS (By Seed)
No. 1 Ethan Evans (Duke), No. 2 Cameron Huss (Wisconsin), Nick Mathews (NC State), Ben Warian (Minnesota), No. 5 Andi Xu (San Diego) and No. 6 Kelvin Hernandez (UNCG)

LAST TIME OUT
Entering round three of the NCAA West Lafayette Regional in the final spot with a four-shot lead, the Gators shot a final round of 2-under to take 3rd and make the cut by 12 strokes.

Through the first hour-and-half in the final rounds, teams battled rainy and cold conditions. Florida put together great start and setup for success when the rain stopped, with a combined 1-under on the first hole (#10) and was even-par on counting scores through the first five holes in the rain.
 
Florida made a charge in the final nine holes after finding itself 1-over at the turn and only a four-shot advantage over Indiana, who had just teed off its round its. The Florida separation began with a trio of birdies from Parker Bell, John DuBois and Ian Gilligan. Then Jack Turner put the Hoosiers and Mississippi State's comeback efforts out of reach with a birdie on six to go up by 10 shots and into fourth place. 
 
Making his regionals debut, Bell led the lineup with a T8 finish and a score of 4-under 212. He turned in all three rounds of par with back-to-back rounds of 2-under 70s to start. In 54-holes, he made 38 pars, 10 birdies and six bogeys. The sophomore flirted with the individual lead and was tied for the individual led behind a birdie on 14 and was one back of the lead in his final three holes. He finished three back of medalist William Moll of Vanderbilt. In six postseason rounds (SEC Championship and NCAA Regionals), five of Bell's rounds are for par or better; 68 (-2), 69 (-1), 70 (-2), 70 (-2) and 72 (E). In his first two postseason appearances, he finished T23 at SECs and T8 at regionals.

Leading UF with a final round 3-under 69 was Turner. The freshman went bogey-free on the front nine and capped off his round with a birdie on the final hole. He finished T18 with a tournament score of 1-under 215. The Orlando, Fla. native has gone top-18 in his first career postseason appearances after a T2 finish at the SEC Championship. In five of his postseason rounds, five of them have been for under par; 68 (-2), 65 (-5), 70 (-2) and 69 (-3).

Another clutch round came from 5th-year senior DuBois (T34). After 2-over on his first nine holes and a double bogey on nine, he responded with a bogey-free 3-under and birdie on his final hole for a 1-under 71 final round. 

DOMINANT SPRING
After a shaky fall, the Gators responded with five wins in the spring to total six on the season. Florida recorded consecutive seasons with six wins for the first time since 1973-74 and 1974-75. UF ended the spring portion of the season with five tournament wins and a 4th place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, that featured Ian Gilligan winning medalist honors and earning an exemption into the PGA Tour's 2024 Shriners Open in October.

The Orange and Blue have now claimed 27 team titles under head coach J.C. Deacon in 10 seasons. This is the seventh season under Deacon UF has won multiple tournaments in a year and fourth of three-plus. Six tournament wins in a season is tied for the most under Deacon, which came last season and included an SEC and National Championship.

Of the last six regular season rounds, Florida has held the team lead and continued this week for a six-shot victory at Calusa Pines Golf Club. In the four stroke play tournament wins this spring, the Gators won by a combined 28 strokes. UF won the Pablo Collegiate Cup over Jacksonville 6-1 to start the spring season. 

GILLY BELONGS
After transferring from Long Beach State prior to the season, Ian Gilligan has proven he belongs on the big stage and in the SEC. The junior was named to the All-SEC Second Team and two-time SEC Golfer of the Week, and earned GCAA/SWING U Golfer of the Month for February. He was also named to Team USA for the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup. He won his first tournament as a Gator and fifth collegiate at the Southern Highlands Collegiate this spring, earning him an exemption into the PGA Tour's Shriners Open. In his SEC Championship debut, Gilligan won his quarterfinal matchup in 20 holes vs. Gordon Sargeant of Vanderbilt.

A native of Reno, N.V., Gilligan began the spring portion with finishes of 2-3-1 and a stretch of 12 consecutive rounds of par or better, including six straight in the 60s. In his first Gators Invitational start, he tied the program record for round (by score) with a 62. His stroke average of 70.9 ranks second on the team as he also tied for the team-leading three top-5, five top-10, and leads with 10 top-25 finishes. In 33 rounds this season, 30 have counted, 20 for par or better, 10 in the 60's, team-highs wtih 124 birdies and six eagles.

BUILDING A NAME, MR. TURNER
Leading Florida in stroke average with a mark of 7065, Turner has put together a strong rookie campaign and was tabbed to the SEC All-Freshman team.

After finishing T78 in his collegiate debut, he has placed T14 or better in six tournaments, including two runner-up finishes and solo third. The Orlando, Fla. native is tied for the team-high in top-10 (5) finishes and par or better tournaments (5). In 23 rounds, 15 have been for par or better. He also is 2-0 in match play.    

A two-time SEC Golfer of the Week, the freshman was in the No. 3 spot for the SEC Championship. He recorded a T2 performance, which tied the second-best finish by a Gator true freshman at the SEC Championship with Camilo Villegas, who placed T2 in 2001. He shot an opening round of 2-under 68 and followed up with a bogey-free 5-under 65 in round two to produce a 54-hole score of 204 (-6). In match play vs. Vanderbilt, Turner found himself down two with three holes remaining and brought the match all squared heading to the final hole of regulation and won 1-up over senior Cole Sherwood. 

In five of his postseason rounds, five of them have been for under par; 68 (-2), 65 (-5), 70 (-2) and 69 (-3).

RINGING THE BELL
After playing in the lineup once his freshman season last year, Parker Bell has carved himself into the lineup this season and appeared in the No. 1 spot for the season opener. The sophomore has started in the lineup nine times and been the lineup for both the SEC Championship and NCAA Regionals.

He has one top-5, four top-10 and eight top-25 finishes on the season and is tied for the team-low 54-hole score with a 10-under 206 in the Schenkel Invite and T2 finish. 

In both his postseason outings (SECs and NCAA Regionals), Bell has finished par or better overall with a T8 4-under 212 finish at regionals and T23 even-par 210 at the conference tournament. Five of his six postseason rounds are for par or better; 68 (-2), 69 (-1), 70 (-2), 70 (-2) and 72 (E). 

THE CHAMP RETURNS
Following the national championship victory, senior John DuBois announced his return for his 5th year. 

DuBois finished undefeated (3-0) in match play at the NCAA National Championship, including winning his semifinals and finals matches 1Up with victories on 18. He also finished T18 in the stroke play portion with rounds of 70-70-69-72 for a 1-over 281.

A postseason hero, DuBois secured the match-clinching point for Florida's first SEC Championship in 12 years vs. No. 1 Vanderbilt behind his 15-foot par putt. The senior was 3-down multiple times, including through 11 holes. He went 2-1 in match play and owns a career record of 7-2 in postseason match play (SECs and NCAAs). 

A PING All-American selection this year, he won the 2022 SEC Individual Championship for his first collegiate win. Unranked by Golfstat at the time, he defeated the No. 1, 2, 8, 12, 13 and 17 ranked players. He became the 25th Gator to win the conference individual title, the most by any SEC school with his first of multiple clutch shots on 18 at Sea Island Golf Club. 

DuBois also sent Florida to the SEC Championship Match Play Finals for the first time in program history last year with the match-clinching victory in extra holes (19) after he teed off the 18th hole 1-down.  

At the 2023 NCAA Bath Regional, DuBois helped the Gators overcome a seven-shot deficit with a final round of 1-under 69.  

FALL RECAP
UF highlighted the first half of the season with the victory at the Georgetown Intercollegiate with a 17-shot victory behind Matthew Kress' first collegiate victory and the 22nd all-time under head coach J.C. Deacon. 

Kress leads the team in stroke average (70.8) followed behind transfer Ian Gilligan, who are both tied for a team-best four top-25 finishes out of five fall tournaments. 

PROMOTED
Prior to the 2023-24 season getting underway, head coach J.C. Deacon announced the promotion of Gator Great and assistant coach Dudley Hart to Associate Head Coach. 

Hart was also named an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup this summer at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland from July 5-7 where he will coach Ian Gilligan and Florida women's golfer Maisie Filler. This marks the fourth in the last five events that Florida will be represented at event.

NEW GATORS
Florida welcomed three newcomers this season in freshmen Rylan Shim (Centreville, Virginia), and Jack Turner (Orlando, Fla.) and All-American transfer Ian Gilligan (Reno, N.V.)

HISTORIC SEASON REWIND 
It was a historic season for the Gators in 2022-23 that led to the program's fifth National Championship and 16th SEC Championship.

Florida captured a national title for the first time in 22 years last week as the Gators swept NCAAs with Fred Biondi winning the NCAA Individual Championship. It was the third UF golfer (Nick Gilliam 2001, Bob Murphy 1966) to achieve the honor and second time in 30 years the program swept both titles. Florida is one of seven schools to achieve the mark twice. The Gators won the NCAA team title, individual title and conference title in the same season for the first time in program history. 

Head Coach J.C. Deacon was tabbed both the SEC and National Coach of the Year for the first time in his career as assistant coach Dudley Hart earned National Assistant Coach of the Year. It was the first time in history that UF won both awards in the same season. 

UF reached match play at nationals for the first time in program history after playing in the fourth round of stroke play for the fifth time overall.  Florida finished stroke play in 2nd with a score of 1118 (-2), its lowest all-time at Grayhawk and first under par team score at the NCAAs since 2006. The 1,118 was the lowest round score at the National Championships in program history. A final round of 279 (-1) marks the third consecutive under round after back-to-back 2-under 278s in round two and three. The 2-under performance by UF is the best round at the NCAA Championships since the opening round in 2007. 

Florida made its 56th NCAA Championship appearance this year, ranking fifth most in the country after a third-round comeback at Bath Regional saw Florida erase a seven-shot deficit led by a trio of rounds in the 60s by Yuxin Lin (66, -5), John DuBois (69, -2) and Ricky Castillo (69, -2).

The Gators won the SEC Championship title for the first time in 12 years. The Gators got revenge and defeated No. 1 Vanderbilt 3-1-1 at Sea Island after falling 3-2 in 2022. Senior John DuBois, the 2022 SEC Individual Champion, sank a 15-footer for the match-clinching point. 

Florida claimed six team titles and six individual titles this season, the most since seven in 2003-04 as it was the sixth time the Gators have won at least six events in a season. The six medalist honors tied the program record in a season and only the third time in Florida history, the others were in 1989-90 and 2010-11. 

Prior to the postseason, the Orange and Blue won four regular season tournaments, including the season opener and finale. At the Augusta Haskins Award Invite, Florida finished 39-under par, to tie second all-time in program history by par and only three shots away from the record (-42). At the Gators Invitational, Florida won its home event for the fourth straight year the 29th time overall in the tournament's 46th occurrence.

Four golfers (Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, John DuBois and Yuxin Lin) all earned PING All-American honors, tied for the most selections by a school this year and tied the Florida record. It was the seventh time the Gators had four selections with the last time being in 2006.  Biondi, Castillo, Lin and Quentin Debove were also selected to the PING All-Region Team. The trio of Biondi, Castillo and Lin collected All-SEC honors with Matthew Kress collecting freshman team recognition. 

Success was also obtained off the course with Biondi, DuBois and Quentin Debove being named GCCA All-American Scholars, which marked the third consecutive years with multiple honorees under Deacon and most selections in a single season in program history.