Clutch Kress, No. 5 Gators win spring opener for third straight win

Tuesday, February 3

Atlantic Beach, Fla. / Atlantic Beach Country Club

10 a.m. (18 holes)

Florida Gators

Sea Best Invitational

Clutch Kress, No. 5 Gators win spring opener for third straight win

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | Men's Golf

Team Leaderboard Player Leaderboard Photo Gallery

Senior Matthew Kress’ bogey-free 5-under 66 lifted Florida to victory at the Sea Best Invitational.

By: Matthew Hutchison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida men's golfer senior Matthew Kress was clutch in the final round of the Sea Best Invitational, shooting a bogey-free 66 (-5) to lift the Gators to their third straight victory on Tuesday.

UF logged the low round of the tournament with a 9-under this afternoon 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 day 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. He tied for 16th with sophomore Zack Swanwick, who also carded a final round of 1-under 70. Rounding out the lineup, Jack Turner tied for 12th and finished 1-under overall.

Freshman Trevor Gutschewski collected a season-best finish at T12 while he shot a final round of 2-under 69. The rest of the individuals competing featured Parker Severs in T27, and both Parker Bell and Noah Kent T34.

UF returns to action and hosts the Gators Invitational from Feb. 14-15 at Mark Bostick Golf Course as the field will feature the last two National Champions in Oklahoma State and Auburn while 17 of the top-150 ranked amateurs in the country.
Florida Scores:
T3. Matthew Kress (-6)
T3. Josh Bai* (-6)
T12. Jack Turner (-1)
T12. Trevor Gutschewski* (-1)
T16. Zack Swanwick (E)
T16. Luke Poulter (E)
T27. Parker Sands (+2)
T27. Parker Severs* (+2)
T34. Noah Kent* (+3)
T34. Parker Bell* (+3)
*Competing as individuals

Team Scores
1. Florida (-10)
2. UNC-Wilmington (-9)
3. Texas A&M (-5)
4. UCF (-2)
5. FGCU (+3)
6. Liberty (+5)
7. Lipscomb (+9)
8. UNF (+11)
9. Kennesaw State (+14)
10. Louisana Tech (+16)
11. FAU (+25)
12. North Alabama (+26)
13. Jacksonville (+29)
14. USC Upstate (+36)

Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon

On the battle with UNCW and victory...
"So impressed by Wilmington today. They threw everything at us. We kept making birdies down the stretch when the conditions were hard, and they kept making birdies too. But for Matthew Kress to birdie his last two holes and get the team win by one, I couldn't dream of a better way for it to finish."

On Matthew Kress and what he means...
"When I got this dream job back in 2014, I wanted to build it around attitude and effort, and he's probably got the best of both. He started at the bottom of the totem pole, and he's worked his way about to the top, so to have him playing in the number one spot in the Gators Invitational next week in his senior year, is about the most special thing you could ask for. I'm so proud of him and happy for his success, and the way he works and thinks. I believe its just the start for him.