No. 10 Florida host 49th Gators Invitational

Saturday, February 14

Gainesville, Fla.

7:20 a.m. (36 holes)

Florida Gators

Gators Invitational

No. 10 Florida host 49th Gators Invitational

Wednesday, February 11, 2026 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring Mark Bostick Golf Course

The tournament takes place Feb. 14-15 with at Mark Bostick Golf Course with a field that features five top-25 teams and the last three National Champions.

By: Matthew Hutchison

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Saturday, Feb. 14 - Sunday, Feb. 15
Location: Mark Bostick Golf Course - Gainesville, Fla.
Host: University of Florida
Course Par/Yardage: 70 / 6,701 yards
Format: 36 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday
Tee Times: Modified shotgun start; 7:20 a.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday
Scoring: Clippd
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

FAN & SPECTATOR INFORMATION
Admission is free all weekend for the Gators Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course. Overflow & additional parking will take place at CampusView Church on Saturday and the UF Law School on Sunday.

GIVEAWAYS & PROMOTIONS
The first 75 fans on Saturday will receive a Florida Swinging Gator branded golf towel and on Sunday, first 100 University of Florida students (with a valid student ID) will receive a Swinging Gator T-Shirt. For both giveaways, fans/students should report to the pro shop to pick up their item.

TEE OFF
Fresh off a spring opening victory and third straight, the No. 10 Florida men's golf team is set to host the 49th Gators Invitational this weekend (Feb. 14-15) at Mark Bostick Golf Course.

LINE UP
No. 1 - Matthew Kress
No. 2 - Jack Turner
No. 3 - Zack Swanwick
No. 4 - Parker Sands
No. 5 - Noah Kent
Individual - Josh Bai
Individual - Parker Bell
Individual - Trevor Gutschewski
Individual - Parker Severs

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Florida has defended its home course and event, winning the event 31 times and the last sixth straight. From 1987-2011, the Gators won the event 20 times and nine straight between 1989-1997.

Last year, the Gators swept the home tournament for the 16th time in program history as Ian Gillian (Korn Ferry Tour Pro) won medalist honors in a two-hole playoff, and UF edged out eventual National Champion Oklahoma State by a single stroke.

COMPETING TEAMS
No. 5 Auburn, No. 20 Charlotte, Chattanooga, FAU, FGCU, No. 10 Florida, Furman, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Jacksonville, Liberty, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 11 Oklahoma State, Penn State, UCF, UNF, USF, and West Virginia.

NOTES ABOUT THE FIELD
- Last three NCAA National Champions (Florida '23, Auburn '24 & Oklahoma State '25)
- Five top-22 teams
- Eight teams that qualified for NCAA Regionals
- Four teams that qualified for NCAA National Championships (UF, USF, Auburn, Oklahoma State)
- Three teams that won NCAA Regionals last year (Florida, Auburn, Oklahoma State)
- Three teams that won their conference last year (Florida, Oklahoma State & Charlotte)
- WAGR: 21 top-200 players, 17 top-150 players, 15 top-100 players, 8 top-50 players, 4 top-10 players and 3 top-5 players.

LAST TIME OUT
Behind Matthew Kress clutch final round, a bogey-free 66 (-5), Florida started off the spring with a victory at the Sea Best Invitational for third straight tournament title.

UF logged the low round of the tournament with a 9-under in the final round to finish 10-under overall and edge out UNCW (-9) by a single shot behind Kress' birdie on the 18th hole for the team title in the spring opener.

Florida continued its dominance of the Sea Best Invitational, winning its last four consecutive outings (2022, 2023, 2024, 2026) at the event. In 12 total appearances now, the Gators have won the tournament title eight times. Under head coach J.C. Deacon, Florida has won the Sea Best Invitational six times. The tournament title is the 35th all-time under Deacon and eighth season of multiple wins, including the last six consecutive. It is also the 20^th win in last four seasons; 2022-23 (6), 2023-24 (6), 2024-25 (5) & 2025-26 (3). This season marks Deacon's sixth season of three-plus single-season victories.

Entering the final round three-strokes back of the lead, the Gators made their move midway through the round with a 5-under performance between holes No. 6-9 as Parker Sands then pushed UF ahead of the Seahawks with a birdie on No. 10 while he made three in a four-hole stretch (holes 7-8-10). He finished with a final round of 69 (-2) and finish T27.

Florida and UNCW battled back-and-forth across the final nine holes, trading birdies and tied atop the leaderboard as the Gators pushed ahead by two shots with a birdie on 14 from Kress. The two found themselves then tied at 9-under after Florida counted a late double-bogey with one hole to score for UF and two for UNCW, both playing the 18^th.

Kress was clutch on his final hole of the day, making his fifth birdie of the round and his fourth in the last five holes; birdies on 14-15 & 17-18. Both Seahawk players would make par on the final hole as Florida held on for the win. Kress finished 6-under for the week and placed T3, one shot behind medalist honors. Newcomer Josh Bai also tied for 3rd as he shot a final round of 68 (-3).

Luke Poulter also closed strong with three straight birdies on holes 15-17 for a round of 1-under 70 after he was +2 through 12 holes.

FALL RECAP
the Gators also closed the fall season on a strong note. Winning back-to-back tournaments at the Williams Cup and East Lake Cup, adding to a runner-up outing and T3 performance in the weeks prior.

A 12-shot victory and finish of 15-under highlighted the Williams Cup victory over a group of ranked teams: No. 5 Texas (-3), No. 13 North Carolina (+9), No. 22 Notre Dame (+12), No. 21 Oklahoma (+16), No. 9 Utah (+16) and No. 16 Auburn (+20).

At the East Lake Cup, Florida defeated No. 1 Virginia (Finals) and No. 9 Ole Miss (Semifinals) for the program's first-ever championship at the prestigious event that features last year's final-four teams. Senior Parker Bell delivered the winning point with a clutch birdie on the 18th hole over UVA's Ben James, ranked No. 1 in PGA TOUR University and the No. 2 ranked amateur. The tournament title is the 34th all-time under head coach J.C. Deacon and eighth season of multiple wins, including the last six consecutive.

PRESEASON PUB
Tagged one of the deepest teams in the country, Florida earned a slew of preseason recognition.

UF was selected No. 4 by the GCAA Coach's Poll and Golf Channel while tabbed No. 5 by Golfweek. Additionally, three Gators collected Preseason All-America honors via Luke Poulter (Golf Channel and Golfweek Second Team), Jack Turner (Golf Channel and Golfweek Third Team) and Zack Swanwick (Golf Channel Third Team). Poulter also was named to The Haskins Award Preseason Watch List entering the 2025-26 season.

Senior and last member of the 2023 National Championship squad, Matthew Kress began the season at No. 23 in the PGA TOUR U Preseason Rankings, and is currently ranked No. 19.

EXPERIENCED LINEUP
A pair of underclassmen last year in Luke Poulter and Zack Swanwick made their postseason debuts last year and both went 3-0 in match play at the SEC Championship. Poulter was named an All-American by both GCAA BS Golfweek while he earned All-Region honors en route to his first collegiate win at the Schenkel Invitational and placed T4 at the NCAA Bremerton Regional.

The true freshman, Swanwick was a member of All-SEC Freshman Team and won a crucial point in Florida's victory over Texas in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals. He also carded back-to-back rounds of 68 (-2) for a T22 outing at the SEC Championship.

A rising junior and four-time All-American, Jack Turner enters his third season at UF. He continued momentum from a breakout freshman season that featured a spot on the GCAA All-Freshman Team and had a team-best six top-10s and eight top-25s. He won the match-clinching point in the SEC Championship Semifinals against the No. 1 player in college golf and back-to-back SEC Individual Champion, Jackson Koivun of Auburn, the reigning SEC and NCAA Champions.

The lone member of the 2023 NCAA Championship Team, 5th-year Senior Matthew Kress looks to carry his postseason season success into his final lap. Kress finished T9 (-3) at the NCAA National Championship to earn All-American status and on the NCAA All-Tournament Team as he holed out for eagle on the 18th hole in the final round of stroke play for three straight rounds of under par: 71-69-70. He collected two important points in postseason match play in a 5&4 victory in the SEC Championship Finals and 3&1 win in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals.

Finally, UF's postseason alternate for all three tournaments, Parker Sands enters his second season.

A SEASON AGO
The Gators continued their success once again last season, as a National Championship Semifinalist and SEC Champions, all for the second time in three seasons. UF also won the NCAA Bremerton Regional to conclude a five win campaign along with a pair of medalist honors from Ian Gilligan (6th collegiate win) and   Luke Poulter (first collegiate win). Head coach J.C. Deacon also was named the Southeast Coach of the Year.

Florida won two of the three postseason tournaments (SEC Championship & NCAA Regional) as the last time UF won both a team conference and regional title in the same season was 2011. It was also the fourth time both have been done in a season in program history - 1989 & 1992.

The victory at the regional was second under Deacon with the first being in 2018 for a total five team titles last season. It also marked the 32nd tournament title under him in 11 seasons. This was the third straight season of four-plus wins under Deacon and the seventh season of multiple wins, including the last five consecutive.

In the last four years, Florida has won the NCAA National Team Championship, NCAA Individual Championship, four NCAA Championships appearances, two NCAA Championship Semifinal Appearances, NCAA Regional Team Championship, two SEC Team Championships, three SEC Final Appearances, SEC Individual Championship, 19 tournament titles and 13 individual titles.

In the final round of stroke play at the national championship, Florida tied for the lowest-round (-8) of the day and second-lowest of the tournament with top-seeded Arizona State (-14). The final round produced a 72-hole score of 9-under 1143, its lowest score by par at the National Championships since 26-under in 2001, when Florida won the team title. The last time UF shot 9-under in a round at nationals was round four in 2006. Both Matthew Kress (T9, -3) and Gilligan (T13, -2) each earned NCAA All-Tournament Team and All-American status with their performances.

The Gators earned a spot in match play at nationals for the second time in three seasons and defeated No. 6 Texas 3-2 in the quarterfinals after rallying down 2-0 and winning the final three matches. It was Florida's fourth win in championship match play. Florida reached SEC Match Play Finals for the third time overall and in the last four years (2022 & 2023) by defeating the No. 6 ranked Oklahoma Sooners 3-2 in the quarterfinals and the No. 1 seed, No. 2 ranked and the reigning SEC and National Champion Auburn Tigers, 3.5-1.5 in the semifinals. The Gators defeated Texas A&M 4-1 in the finals for the program's 17th conference title, ranking No. 2 among men's golf programs. It was also the 10th match play win in the SEC Championship, ranking second-most in the conference behind Vanderbilt's 13.

At the NCAA Bremerton Regional, Florida had a final round of 3-under 285 for a 54-hole score of 28-under 836 after a 16-under round two, which was the sixth lowest round by par and lowest at a regional since a 17-under final round in 2018. The final tournament score by par of 28-under is tied for eighth lowest all-time and third-lowest at an NCAA Regional in program history. Florida's 28-under par was the third-lowest in regional play this year - Auburn 32-under and Florida State 29-under, who both played on their home course.

Defending home turf for the sixth consecutive year, UF swept the 48th Gators Invitational behind Gilligan's sixth collegiate win, including defeating National Champion Oklahoma State. The victory was the 31st overall and 16th sweep (team and individual title) at the home tournament as Florida had an all-underclassmen lineup competing.

The second individual title was captured by redshirt-sophomore Luke Poulter at the Schenkel Invitational. He led all three rounds and became the sixth Gator to win the tournament,  joining Andy Bean, Matt Every, Phil Hancock, Steve Scott and Bank Vongvanij.

Heading into postseason play, the Orange and Blue defended its team title at the Calusa Cup behind a final round of 17-under, tied for third all-time in program history by par. The win marked the third consecutive year UF has won the final regular season event (2024 Calusa Cup & 2023 Augusta Haskins Award Invite). The final round of 271 tied the lowest round by score this season as the -17 was the season-low score by par in a round. Also the final team score of 17-under also set a new tournament record for the Calusa Cup.

NEW GATORS
The Orange and Blue welcomed three new Gators this season in Josh Bai (Auckland, New Zealand) who finished runner-up at the 2023 United States Junior Amateur Championship, Trevor Gutschewski (Omaha, Neb.) the 2025 Western Junior and 2024 United States Junior Amateur Champion and Parker Severs (Lakewood Ranch, Fla) the 2024 Florida State Golf Association Four-Ball Champion.

Also after joining Florida last spring, Iowa transfer Noah Kent is eligible this season to compete after playing in the 2025 U.S. Open and The Masters. The junior added two PGA TOUR events under his belt at the Texas Children's Houston Open and CJ Cup by Bryon Nelson.

THE TURN
The Gators continue the spring at the Southern Highlands Collegiate from March 1-3 and then have two more regular season events - Pauma Valley Invitational (March 16-18) & Calusa Cup (April 5-7).