Wednesday, May 20
Columbus, Ohio / OSU Golf Club - Scarlet Course
11 a.m. (18 holes)
Florida Gators
at
NCAA Regionals
Gators holding the 2026 Ticket Punched after winning the 2026 NCAA Columbus Regional.
Gators, Poulter complete sweep of Columbus Regional
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 | Men's Golf
Luke Poulter won his second individual title as Florida won by 24 shots for back-to-back regional titles and advance to its sixth straight National Championship.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 1 seed and No. 2 ranked Florida men's golf team validated their ranking with a commanding performance by sweeping the NCAA Columbus Regional and advane to its sixth straight National Championship on Wenesday at OSU Golf Club.
Luke Poulter won his second collegiate event with a 54-hole score of 213 (E) to complete the sweep by the Gators. His birdie on the par4 16th moved him into a tie for the lead and closed with two pars for the seventh regional title in program history and first since Andy Zhang in 2018, which was the last time the Gators swept regionals. The postseason sweep is the third time in program history – 2006 and 2018.
Other individual winners include, Brian Gay (1993), Brad Lehmann (1994), Camilo Villegas (2001), Billy Horschel (2006 & 2007) and Andy Zhang (2018).
A shot back Poulter, who was the first Gator to earn medalist honors this season, featured in Matthew Kress and Parker Sands. For Sands, it marked a career-best finish and Kress recorded his second straight runner-up outing at regionals. The final two UF golfers were Jack Turner in 10th and Zack Swanwick T11.
For the second straight season, the Gators went wire-to-wire at regionals for a 24-shot victory and the eighth regional title in program history, which is tied for fifth most in the nation. It is the biggest margin of victory since a 23-shot win at the 2023 Sea Best Invitational.
This is the first time in program history with consecutive regional victories. Across the last four seasons, the Gators have secured five out of 12 possible team postseason titles; 2023 National Championship, 2023 & 2025 SEC Championships and 2025 & 2026 NCAA Regional Titles. UF is one of two teams (Oklahoma) to win consecutive regional championships the last two seasons.
Florida clinches its 59th NCAA Championship appearance and have only missed qualifying twice under head coach J.C. Deacon. UF has made the championship in 21 of the last 24 tournaments as its 59 all-time outings at nationals rank t-fourth (USC) most in the nation behind Oklahoma State (77), Texas (69) and Arizona State (60). The streak of six straight appearances is tied for the fourth-longest active streak.
Since regionals started in 1989, Florida has advanced out 33 total times, tied for second most in the nation, only behind Oklahoma State's 34.
Play was delayed due to weather this morning and featured a shotgun start at 11 a.m. Teams battled the drizzling rain and windy gusts throughout the final 18-holes. When Florida teed off the final round, they owned a 16-shot lead and were 28 shots inside the championship cut with all three Gators within three from the solo lead. They finished with a 24-stroke victory and 37-shots ahead of the top-5 cut.
The 2026 National Championships begin on Friday, May 29 and conclude on Wednesday, June 3 with a format of four stroke play rounds and three rounds of match play at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. Florida will be the No. 2 seed and tee off round one (May 29) at 2:50 p.m. and two (May 30) at 9:30 a.m.
Both Gator golf programs earns spots at the final tournament of the season and are one of 13 schools to accomplish the mark this season. The women, who are the No. 3 national seed, begin play on Thursday, May 21.
The tournament title is the 38th all-time and third regional title under head coach J.C. Deacon for the eighth season of multiple wins, including the last six consecutive. It is also the 23rd win in the last four seasons: 2022-23 (6), 2023-24 (6), 2024-25 (5) & 2025-26 (6). In that span, Florida has played a total of 49 tournaments (46.9%). Deacon is only four team titles away from tying UF Hall of Fame Coach Buster Bishop (42). Since 1965, Florida has seven seasons of six-plus team victories and Deacon owns three of those seasons, which is the most by any head coach in program history.
Postround Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On the victory..
"Just an awesome performance this week for the Florida Gators. The Scarlet course is always a great test and we were up for the challenge. So many of the things we've worked on all year were executed at a high level this week. I couldn't be happier for the guys. They have a chance to win a National Championship."
1. Luke Poulter - 71-70-72 = 213 (E)
T2. Matthew Kress - 71-71-71 = 214 (+1)
T2. Parker Sands - 66-76-72 = 214 (+1)
10. Jack Turner - 69-73-76 = 218 (+5)
T11. Zack Swanwick - 73-69-77 = 219 (+6)
Team Scores
1. Florida (E)
2. Stanford (+24)
3. Memphis (+25)
4. Arizona State (+30)
5. Florida State (+31)
-- Top5 Championship Cut --
6. Utah (+37)
7. Long Beach State (+38)
8. Cal (+39)
9. Oregon (+41)
T10. Illinois State (+43)
T10. USF (+43)
12. South Carolina (+48)
13. Wright State (+58)
Luke Poulter won his second collegiate event with a 54-hole score of 213 (E) to complete the sweep by the Gators. His birdie on the par4 16th moved him into a tie for the lead and closed with two pars for the seventh regional title in program history and first since Andy Zhang in 2018, which was the last time the Gators swept regionals. The postseason sweep is the third time in program history – 2006 and 2018.
Other individual winners include, Brian Gay (1993), Brad Lehmann (1994), Camilo Villegas (2001), Billy Horschel (2006 & 2007) and Andy Zhang (2018).
A shot back Poulter, who was the first Gator to earn medalist honors this season, featured in Matthew Kress and Parker Sands. For Sands, it marked a career-best finish and Kress recorded his second straight runner-up outing at regionals. The final two UF golfers were Jack Turner in 10th and Zack Swanwick T11.
For the second straight season, the Gators went wire-to-wire at regionals for a 24-shot victory and the eighth regional title in program history, which is tied for fifth most in the nation. It is the biggest margin of victory since a 23-shot win at the 2023 Sea Best Invitational.
This is the first time in program history with consecutive regional victories. Across the last four seasons, the Gators have secured five out of 12 possible team postseason titles; 2023 National Championship, 2023 & 2025 SEC Championships and 2025 & 2026 NCAA Regional Titles. UF is one of two teams (Oklahoma) to win consecutive regional championships the last two seasons.
Florida clinches its 59th NCAA Championship appearance and have only missed qualifying twice under head coach J.C. Deacon. UF has made the championship in 21 of the last 24 tournaments as its 59 all-time outings at nationals rank t-fourth (USC) most in the nation behind Oklahoma State (77), Texas (69) and Arizona State (60). The streak of six straight appearances is tied for the fourth-longest active streak.
Since regionals started in 1989, Florida has advanced out 33 total times, tied for second most in the nation, only behind Oklahoma State's 34.
Play was delayed due to weather this morning and featured a shotgun start at 11 a.m. Teams battled the drizzling rain and windy gusts throughout the final 18-holes. When Florida teed off the final round, they owned a 16-shot lead and were 28 shots inside the championship cut with all three Gators within three from the solo lead. They finished with a 24-stroke victory and 37-shots ahead of the top-5 cut.
The 2026 National Championships begin on Friday, May 29 and conclude on Wednesday, June 3 with a format of four stroke play rounds and three rounds of match play at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. Florida will be the No. 2 seed and tee off round one (May 29) at 2:50 p.m. and two (May 30) at 9:30 a.m.
Both Gator golf programs earns spots at the final tournament of the season and are one of 13 schools to accomplish the mark this season. The women, who are the No. 3 national seed, begin play on Thursday, May 21.
The tournament title is the 38th all-time and third regional title under head coach J.C. Deacon for the eighth season of multiple wins, including the last six consecutive. It is also the 23rd win in the last four seasons: 2022-23 (6), 2023-24 (6), 2024-25 (5) & 2025-26 (6). In that span, Florida has played a total of 49 tournaments (46.9%). Deacon is only four team titles away from tying UF Hall of Fame Coach Buster Bishop (42). Since 1965, Florida has seven seasons of six-plus team victories and Deacon owns three of those seasons, which is the most by any head coach in program history.
Postround Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On the victory..
"Just an awesome performance this week for the Florida Gators. The Scarlet course is always a great test and we were up for the challenge. So many of the things we've worked on all year were executed at a high level this week. I couldn't be happier for the guys. They have a chance to win a National Championship."
On Luke Poulter's win...
"A big win for Luke Poulter this week. He's been on the brink for a while. He's one of the best amateurs in the world and it showed this week on a tough track in adverse conditions. Says everything about Luke when he has his best tournament of the year at the most important time. He's a competitor and a winner."
1. Luke Poulter - 71-70-72 = 213 (E)
T2. Matthew Kress - 71-71-71 = 214 (+1)
T2. Parker Sands - 66-76-72 = 214 (+1)
10. Jack Turner - 69-73-76 = 218 (+5)
T11. Zack Swanwick - 73-69-77 = 219 (+6)
Team Scores
1. Florida (E)
2. Stanford (+24)
3. Memphis (+25)
4. Arizona State (+30)
5. Florida State (+31)
-- Top5 Championship Cut --
6. Utah (+37)
7. Long Beach State (+38)
8. Cal (+39)
9. Oregon (+41)
T10. Illinois State (+43)
T10. USF (+43)
12. South Carolina (+48)
13. Wright State (+58)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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