Sunday, April 26
St. Simons Island, Ga. / Sea Island Golf Club: Seaside Course
8 a.m. (Match Play) | Finals
Florida Gators
vs
Ole Miss
Parker Sands tees off the SEC Championship Finals on Sunday at Sea Island Golf Club.
Florida falls in SEC Championship Finals 4-1 vs. Ole Miss
Sunday, April 26, 2026 | Men's Golf
A late Gator rally fell short in the conference tournament title match, Florida continues the postseason at NCAA Regionals from May 18-20.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The No. 2-seed and No. 3-ranked Florida men's golf team fell short in the SEC Championship Finals to Ole Miss 4-1 on Sunday at Sea Island Golf Club. The Gators postseason continues at NCAA Regionals (May 18-20) as they find out their selection on May 6th at 2 p.m. on Golf Channel.
Florida battled from behind throughout the day and nearly pulled off the comeback as when Ole Miss made the turn, they led in three matches and the other were tied in too. The Rebels went up 1-0 with a 5&4 victory by Tom Fischer over Zack Swanwick and the rest of the matches featured Ole Miss 3Up through 13, 2Up through 14 and tied through 15 and 12 holes.
The No. 4-seed and No. 11-ranked Rebels then made it 2-0 with a 4&3 win from Collins Trolio over Matthew Kress. With Ole Miss needing one more point for the conference title, Florida teased with the comeback efforts as Parker Sands won the 16th to make it 1Down with two to play and Luke Poulter tee off 17th 1Up with two to play after winning the prior hole. The final match featured Jack Turner squaring his match on the 14th hole with four to play.
On the par3 17th, Sands and his opponent Cameron Tankersley each landed on the green and Sands nearly made the birdie that fell just short, and the two made pars and went to the 18th 1Up in favor of Tankersley. Clearing the green on the final hole at the Seaside Course, Poulter and Daniel Tolf each made pars and headed to extra holes on the 10th hole, parallel of the 18th.
Sands and Tankersley each found the green on their approach shots. The sophomore who went 2-0 in his match play debut yesterday, Sands putt for birdie from the fringe missed and Ole Miss won the match 1Up for the first SEC Championship in 41 years. It also marked the first loss in match play this season and against Ole Miss in the conference championship. Florida now is 2-2 all-time in the conference championship finals since match play was added in 2017.
Florida had a record setting performance in stroke play, finishing with a new program record in 54-hole team score (807), their new conference tournament 54-hole by par (-33) and its lowest round at the event by score and par (267, -13). The first two rounds of match play featured knocking off No. 4 Texas (Semifinals, 3.5-1.5) and No. 16 Oklahoma (Quarterfinals, 3-2).
The Gators earned a spot in the match play finals for the third time in four years, which ranks second all-time in the conference during a four-year stretch, only Vanderbilt has accomplished the feat with reaching the finals four straight years. The 12 wins are second-most all-time at SECs.
Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On how proud he is of his team's fight …
"Couldn't be more proud. It's hard right now. I love these guys so much and they put so much into this, but Ole Miss just played better. They lost a superstar in the fall, and what coach Chris Malloy has done with that program this year to keep them going and for them to beat us today, they had to play really well, so hats off."
On the strength and depth of the Southeastern conference …
"You can't take a day off in this conference. You have to play your best every day, and we saw that today. That is what keeps us sharp. I know this is going to motivate our guys and to get through this tournament. This experience is only going to help us at the national championship. So, love the SEC and proud to be a part of it."
SEC Championship Finals - No. 2 Florida (1) vs. No. 4 Ole Miss (4)
Tom Fischer 5&4 over Zack Swanwick
Luke Poutler Tied Daniel Tolf (Through 19 holes)
Cameron Tankersley 1Up over Parker Sands
Collins Trolio 4&3 over Matthew Kress
Jack Turner Tied Cohen Trolio (Through 15 holes)
Florida battled from behind throughout the day and nearly pulled off the comeback as when Ole Miss made the turn, they led in three matches and the other were tied in too. The Rebels went up 1-0 with a 5&4 victory by Tom Fischer over Zack Swanwick and the rest of the matches featured Ole Miss 3Up through 13, 2Up through 14 and tied through 15 and 12 holes.
The No. 4-seed and No. 11-ranked Rebels then made it 2-0 with a 4&3 win from Collins Trolio over Matthew Kress. With Ole Miss needing one more point for the conference title, Florida teased with the comeback efforts as Parker Sands won the 16th to make it 1Down with two to play and Luke Poulter tee off 17th 1Up with two to play after winning the prior hole. The final match featured Jack Turner squaring his match on the 14th hole with four to play.
On the par3 17th, Sands and his opponent Cameron Tankersley each landed on the green and Sands nearly made the birdie that fell just short, and the two made pars and went to the 18th 1Up in favor of Tankersley. Clearing the green on the final hole at the Seaside Course, Poulter and Daniel Tolf each made pars and headed to extra holes on the 10th hole, parallel of the 18th.
Sands and Tankersley each found the green on their approach shots. The sophomore who went 2-0 in his match play debut yesterday, Sands putt for birdie from the fringe missed and Ole Miss won the match 1Up for the first SEC Championship in 41 years. It also marked the first loss in match play this season and against Ole Miss in the conference championship. Florida now is 2-2 all-time in the conference championship finals since match play was added in 2017.
Florida had a record setting performance in stroke play, finishing with a new program record in 54-hole team score (807), their new conference tournament 54-hole by par (-33) and its lowest round at the event by score and par (267, -13). The first two rounds of match play featured knocking off No. 4 Texas (Semifinals, 3.5-1.5) and No. 16 Oklahoma (Quarterfinals, 3-2).
The Gators earned a spot in the match play finals for the third time in four years, which ranks second all-time in the conference during a four-year stretch, only Vanderbilt has accomplished the feat with reaching the finals four straight years. The 12 wins are second-most all-time at SECs.
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
Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On how proud he is of his team's fight …
"Couldn't be more proud. It's hard right now. I love these guys so much and they put so much into this, but Ole Miss just played better. They lost a superstar in the fall, and what coach Chris Malloy has done with that program this year to keep them going and for them to beat us today, they had to play really well, so hats off."
On the strength and depth of the Southeastern conference …
"You can't take a day off in this conference. You have to play your best every day, and we saw that today. That is what keeps us sharp. I know this is going to motivate our guys and to get through this tournament. This experience is only going to help us at the national championship. So, love the SEC and proud to be a part of it."
SEC Championship Finals - No. 2 Florida (1) vs. No. 4 Ole Miss (4)
Tom Fischer 5&4 over Zack Swanwick
Luke Poutler Tied Daniel Tolf (Through 19 holes)
Cameron Tankersley 1Up over Parker Sands
Collins Trolio 4&3 over Matthew Kress
Jack Turner Tied Cohen Trolio (Through 15 holes)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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