Florida Gators
SEC Championship
Gators open play at SEC Championship Wednesday
Monday, April 20, 2026 | Men's Golf
The reigning SEC Champions look to repeat for the first time since 1993-94, the conference tournament is set for April 22-26 at Sea Island Golf Club.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Wednesday, April 22 - Sunday, April 26
Location: St. Simons Island, Ga. - Sea Island Golf Club: Seaside Course
Host: SEC
Course Par/Yardage: 70 / 7,005 yards
Format: 54-hole stroke play (18-18-18) and Match Play (3 matches)
Tee Times: 8 a.m. on Wednesday and TBA other days
Scoring:Stroke Play & Match Play
Watch:Semifinals at 3 p.m. (SECN+) and Finals at 8 a.m. (SEC Network)
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Lineup
No. 1 - Jack Turner
No. 2 - Luke Poulter
No. 3 - Matthew Kress
No. 4 - Zack Swanwick
No. 5 - Parker Sands
Sub - Parker Bell
TEE OFF
The reigning conference champions look to repeat at the SEC Championship this week as play begins on Wednesday at 8 a.m. at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. The tournament is set for April 22-26.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gators rank second all-time in the SEC with 17 conference championships. Florida won its first title in 1955 and defended it the following season. Between 1988-1996, UF has claimed five championships, including four consecutive from 1991-1994. The other four years they finished runner-up and third twice.
In the match play portion, Florida is 10-4 all-time with victories over Auburn (2025), Georgia (2022), Oklahoma (2026), Ole Miss (2018, 2023), South Carolina (2017), Texas A&M (2022, 2023, 2025) and Vanderbilt (2023).
Last year, Florida won its second conference championship in last three seasons (2023, 2025). The Gators 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 then reigning SEC and National Champion Auburn Tigers, 3.5-1.5 in the semifinals. The 4-1 win against the Texas A&M Aggies moves the all-time series record to 3-0 in the conference tournament.
COMPETING TEAMS (NCAA Rankings as of April 20 )
No. 17 Alabama, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Florida, No. 25 Georgia, No. 54 Kentucky, No. 8 LSU, No. 41 Mississippi State, No. 89 Missouri, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 39 South Carolina, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 3 Texas, No. 30 Texas A&M and No. 11 Vanderbilt.
LAST TIME OUT
Florida captured its fifth tournament victory in the regular season finale at the Calusa Cup. It is the third straight year the Gators have won the event at Calusa Pines Golf Club to mark four consecutive wins in the final regular season tournament – Calusa Cup (2024-26) and Augusta Haskins Award Invitational (2023).
Florida finished with a 54-hole score of 842 (-22) for their second-lowest score by par this season (-27) en route to a four-shot victory over No. 2 Virginia. Four Gators finished in the red for the tournament, led by Jack Turner in T4 at 7-under and Parker Sands in T7 (tied career-best finish) at 6-under.
The tournament title is the 37th all-time under head coach J.C. Deacon and eighth season of multiple wins, including the last six consecutive. It is also the 22nd win in the last four seasons: 2022-23 (6), 2023-24 (6), 2024-25 (5) & 2025-25 (5). In that pan, Florida has played a total of 47 tournaments (46.8%).
This is the fourth straight season of five-plus tournament victories for the first time in program history. The five-win season is the fifth all-time under Deacon, which is the most by a head coach in program history. In 12 totals seasons led by Deacon, Florida has six seasons of three-plus wins and five of five-plus as the most under him all-time was six in back-to-back seasons (2023-23, 2023-24). Florida's program record for tournaments victories is eight in 1972-73 when they won the SEC and National Championships.
STRONG SPRING
In the five spring tournaments, UF won three of them and finished T3 (Pauma Valley Invitational) and 5th (Southern Highlands Collegiate) at the other two outings.
The spring started with a come back victory at the Sea Best Invitational, led by Matthew Kress' bogey-free 66 (-5) in the final round for its last four consecutive team victory (2022, 2023, 2024, 2026) at the event. In 12 total appearances now, the Gators have won the tournament title eight times
At the Gators Invitational, Florida defended its home course for the seventh straight season, winning by 14 shots at 27-under and claiming its fourth consecutive victory (at the time).
Florida entered the final day with a three-shot lead over No. 2 Auburn (-13), which finished second. The Gators and Tigers battled for the team title throughout the day, and Auburn closed it to a one-shot deficit (-23 & -22), but that was the closest the conference rival would get. UF pulled away from the Tigers with a 6-under stretch between holes seven through nine behind a pair of eagles on seven (par5, 565 yards) from Parker Sands and Zack Swanwick.
UF won on its home course and event for the 32nd time in the tournament's 49th year of existence, including winning the last seven straight. The win streak of seven consecutive ranks third all-time as Florida won the event eight times from 2004-11 and nine times from 1989-1997.
Florida captured its fifth tournament victory in the regular season finale at the Calusa Cup. It is the third straight year the Gators have won the event at Calusa Pines Golf Club to mark four consecutive wins in the final regular season tournament – Calusa Cup (2024-26) and Augusta Haskins Award Invitational (2023).
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. 17.
EXPERIENCED LINEUP
Florida returns 4-of-5 from last year's starting lineup which included a NCAA National Championship Semifinalist appearance, NCAA Regional Title, SEC Championship and five total tournament wins.
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
Following the conference clash, Florida begins NCAA Regionals from May 18-20 as they will find their regional selection on May 6th at 2 p.m. live on Golf Channel. The six predetermined regional sites are:
- Athens, Georgia | University of Georgia Golf Course
- Bermuda Run, North Carolina | Bermuda Run Country Club
- Bryan, Texas | Traditions Club
- Columbus, Ohio | OSU Golf Club
- Corvallis, Oregon | Trysting Tree Golf Club
- Maricopa, Arizona | Chin Southern Dunes
Players Mentioned
