Friday, September 20
Chicago, Ill. / Olympia Fields Country Club
10 a.m. (18 holes)
Florida Gators
at
Fighting Illini Collegiate
Stacked Olympia Fields Continues Fall Season for Gators
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 | Men's Golf
Florida begins play on Friday among 14 top-25 teams in the GCAA Preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Friday, Sept. 20 - Sunday, Sept. 22
Location: Chicago, Ill. - Olympia Fields CC
Host: University of Illinois
Course Par/Yardage: 70, 7,353
Format: 18 holes each day
Tee Times: 10 a.m. on Friday and TBA Saturday and Sunday
Scoring: Golfstat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
The fall season continues with a trip to the Fighting Illini Collegiate at Olympia Fields Country Club for the Florida men's golf team this weekend.
LINE UP
No. 1 - Jack Turner
No. 2 - Ian Gilligan
No. 3 - Parker Bell
No. 4 - Matthew Kress
No. 5 - Zack Swanwick
Individual - Rylan Shim
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators have competed in the nine eight times with the most recent last season. In 2022, Florida finished T2 behind a runner-up finish from current Korn Ferry Tour member Ricky Castillo. Florida won the tournament in the fall of 2010.
COMPETING TEAMS (Bushnell/Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll)
No. 16 Alabama, No. 2 Arizona State, RV Baylor, No. 10 Florida, No. 3 Florida State, No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 9 Illinois, Michigan, No. 5 North Carolina, RV Northwestern, No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 23 Sanford, No. 8 Texas, No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 15 Texas Tech.
STACKED FIELD
This weekend's field features one of the best fields in the country this season:
LAST TIME OUT
For the second consecutive round the Florida owned the low round in the field en route to a second-place finish in the season opener at the Sahalee Players Championship.
The Gators climbed multiple spots (4 in round three, 5 in round two) in back-to-back rounds to finish with a team score of 868 (+4) behind a final round of 285 (-3) to finish runner-up. Florida's rounds of 283 and 285 marked the second and fourth lowest by a team outside of Arizona State's 282 and 284, who won the tournament at 7-under.
After a breakout freshman season that earned All-American honors, Jack Turner led the lineup with a T4 performance. Since his collegiate debut last fall, he has placed T23 or better with five top-5s in nine starts. He shot a final round of 71 (-1) to end only two shots back of medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 214 (-2).
A SEASON AGO
Following Florida's SEC and National Championship Titles, the Gators featured a new look lineup while three First-Team All-Americans - Fred Biondi (NCAA Individual Champion), Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin - all departed. Returning from the title teams was John DuBois and Matthew Kress.
After a shaky last 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. It marked 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.
The new look Gators left their mark in the postseason. At the SEC Championship, UF was led by true freshman Jack Turner, who posted a team-best T2 finish in his first conference tournament start. The performance ties the second-best finish by a Gator true freshman at the SEC Championship with Camilo Villegas, who placed T2 in 2001. Vanderbilt and Florida meet for the third straight season in match play SEC Championship with the Commodores edging out the Gators 3-2 in extra holes in the quarterfinals.
Moving to Regionals and entering round three in the final advancing spot by four-shots, 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.
At the NCAA National Championship, Florida concluded with an 11th-place finish and battled for back-to-back match play appearances. An important 1-under 287 third round on Saturday helped advance Florida to the final round of stroke play for the third consecutive season. The Gators started the day in eighth, and in the final match-play spot with a one-shot advantage. The Orange and Blue continued its streak of five straight top-11 finishes after winning the national title - 1974: 2nd, 1994: 3rd, 1969: T5 and 2002: T11.
SUMMER RECAP
Across the board, the Gators captured success this summer, highlighted by securing three spots on the 2024 Western Amateur Semifinals in Parker Bell, Ian Gilligan and Jack Turner. Gilligan and Turner met in a marathon final with Gilligan winning in the 29-hole final. The victory also marked a Gator sweep of the Western with incoming freshman Parker Sands winning the Western Junior.
Bell made his major debut in the U.S. Open and made the first birdie of the tournament and was the leader at one point. He shot a final round of 70 and led the field in driving distance of 346.9 compared to 310.9 in the first two rounds. The junior also finished 4th at the Southern Amateur.
Gilligan made his PGA Tour Debut at the Barracuda Championship, making the cut and finishing T40. He also was part of Team USA's victory at the Arnold Palmer Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the North & South Amateur.
Redshirt-freshman Rylan Shim closed out the summer with a 3rd place outing at the Canaidan Amatuer to go with a semifinals berth at the VSGA (Virginia State Golf Association) Amateur.
Ryan Hart collected medalist honors at Wykagyl Country Club to secure a spot in the U.S. Amateur.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
UF was tabbed No. 8 in the Golf Channel preseason rankings along with Parker Bell and Ian Gilligan named preseason all-americans by the network.
Gilligan also earned a spot on the Haskins Award Fall Watch List and was tabbed No. 8 in the PGA Tour U Rankings to begin the season.
NEW GATORS
The Orange and Blue welcomed two new golfers this season in Parker Sands (Edmond, Okla.) and Zack Swanwick (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand). This summer, Sands won the 2024 Western Junior and the OGA (Oklahoma Golf Association) Junior Championship. Swanwick was the low amateur at the New Zealand Open and placed 3rd at the 2024 Austrian Masters of Amateur.
THE TURN
Florida heads to the Barbara Nicklaus Cup (Oct. 7-8) at Muirfield Village Golf Club, which will feature stroke play and match play with the Gators women's golf program.
Dates: Friday, Sept. 20 - Sunday, Sept. 22
Location: Chicago, Ill. - Olympia Fields CC
Host: University of Illinois
Course Par/Yardage: 70, 7,353
Format: 18 holes each day
Tee Times: 10 a.m. on Friday and TBA Saturday and Sunday
Scoring: Golfstat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TEE OFF
The fall season continues with a trip to the Fighting Illini Collegiate at Olympia Fields Country Club for the Florida men's golf team this weekend.
LINE UP
No. 1 - Jack Turner
No. 2 - Ian Gilligan
No. 3 - Parker Bell
No. 4 - Matthew Kress
No. 5 - Zack Swanwick
Individual - Rylan Shim
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators have competed in the nine eight times with the most recent last season. In 2022, Florida finished T2 behind a runner-up finish from current Korn Ferry Tour member Ricky Castillo. Florida won the tournament in the fall of 2010.
COMPETING TEAMS (Bushnell/Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll)
No. 16 Alabama, No. 2 Arizona State, RV Baylor, No. 10 Florida, No. 3 Florida State, No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 9 Illinois, Michigan, No. 5 North Carolina, RV Northwestern, No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 23 Sanford, No. 8 Texas, No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 15 Texas Tech.
STACKED FIELD
This weekend's field features one of the best fields in the country this season:
- 14 of 15 teams in the field are ranked or receiving votes in the GCAA Preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll released Aug. 30.
- Programs in the 2024 tournament field have combined to account for 18 of 30 spots in the 15 NCAA Championship match play finals since the current format began in 2009
- 14 of 15 teams in the field competed in the 2024 NCAA Regionals
- 11 of the 15 teams in the field advanced to the 2024 NCAA Championship stroke play
- The field includes four of the final eight teams that made up match play at the 2024 NCAA Championship: quarterfinalists Illinois and North Carolina; semifinalist Georgia Tech; and finalist Florida State
LAST TIME OUT
For the second consecutive round the Florida owned the low round in the field en route to a second-place finish in the season opener at the Sahalee Players Championship.
The Gators climbed multiple spots (4 in round three, 5 in round two) in back-to-back rounds to finish with a team score of 868 (+4) behind a final round of 285 (-3) to finish runner-up. Florida's rounds of 283 and 285 marked the second and fourth lowest by a team outside of Arizona State's 282 and 284, who won the tournament at 7-under.
After a breakout freshman season that earned All-American honors, Jack Turner led the lineup with a T4 performance. Since his collegiate debut last fall, he has placed T23 or better with five top-5s in nine starts. He shot a final round of 71 (-1) to end only two shots back of medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 214 (-2).
A SEASON AGO
Following Florida's SEC and National Championship Titles, the Gators featured a new look lineup while three First-Team All-Americans - Fred Biondi (NCAA Individual Champion), Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin - all departed. Returning from the title teams was John DuBois and Matthew Kress.
After a shaky last 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. It marked 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.
The new look Gators left their mark in the postseason. At the SEC Championship, UF was led by true freshman Jack Turner, who posted a team-best T2 finish in his first conference tournament start. The performance ties the second-best finish by a Gator true freshman at the SEC Championship with Camilo Villegas, who placed T2 in 2001. Vanderbilt and Florida meet for the third straight season in match play SEC Championship with the Commodores edging out the Gators 3-2 in extra holes in the quarterfinals.
Moving to Regionals and entering round three in the final advancing spot by four-shots, 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.
At the NCAA National Championship, Florida concluded with an 11th-place finish and battled for back-to-back match play appearances. An important 1-under 287 third round on Saturday helped advance Florida to the final round of stroke play for the third consecutive season. The Gators started the day in eighth, and in the final match-play spot with a one-shot advantage. The Orange and Blue continued its streak of five straight top-11 finishes after winning the national title - 1974: 2nd, 1994: 3rd, 1969: T5 and 2002: T11.
SUMMER RECAP
Across the board, the Gators captured success this summer, highlighted by securing three spots on the 2024 Western Amateur Semifinals in Parker Bell, Ian Gilligan and Jack Turner. Gilligan and Turner met in a marathon final with Gilligan winning in the 29-hole final. The victory also marked a Gator sweep of the Western with incoming freshman Parker Sands winning the Western Junior.
Bell made his major debut in the U.S. Open and made the first birdie of the tournament and was the leader at one point. He shot a final round of 70 and led the field in driving distance of 346.9 compared to 310.9 in the first two rounds. The junior also finished 4th at the Southern Amateur.
Gilligan made his PGA Tour Debut at the Barracuda Championship, making the cut and finishing T40. He also was part of Team USA's victory at the Arnold Palmer Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the North & South Amateur.
Redshirt-freshman Rylan Shim closed out the summer with a 3rd place outing at the Canaidan Amatuer to go with a semifinals berth at the VSGA (Virginia State Golf Association) Amateur.
Ryan Hart collected medalist honors at Wykagyl Country Club to secure a spot in the U.S. Amateur.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
UF was tabbed No. 8 in the Golf Channel preseason rankings along with Parker Bell and Ian Gilligan named preseason all-americans by the network.
Gilligan also earned a spot on the Haskins Award Fall Watch List and was tabbed No. 8 in the PGA Tour U Rankings to begin the season.
NEW GATORS
The Orange and Blue welcomed two new golfers this season in Parker Sands (Edmond, Okla.) and Zack Swanwick (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand). This summer, Sands won the 2024 Western Junior and the OGA (Oklahoma Golf Association) Junior Championship. Swanwick was the low amateur at the New Zealand Open and placed 3rd at the 2024 Austrian Masters of Amateur.
THE TURN
Florida heads to the Barbara Nicklaus Cup (Oct. 7-8) at Muirfield Village Golf Club, which will feature stroke play and match play with the Gators women's golf program.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
SEC Champions - Men's Golf
Monday, April 28
One-on-One with J.C. Deacon - Florida Men's Golf
Thursday, April 17
Noah Kent Media Availability at The Masters
Tuesday, April 08
Gators Invite Recap 2-16-25
Wednesday, February 19
