Monday, June 1
Carlsbad, Calif. / Omni La Costa: North Course
1:41 p.m. (18 holes)
Florida Gators
at
NCAA National Championships
Sophomore Zack Swanwick fist bumps after leading the Gators with a 6-under 66 in round four of the NCAA National Championship.
Gators shoot 12-under history to make match play, set for quarterfinals vs. Oklahoma State
Monday, June 1, 2026 | Men's Golf
Florida’s logged its second-lowest round all-time (-12) at NCAAs for 16-under over the last two holes to finish T4 and qualify for match play.
CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 2 Florida men's golf played the last 36-holes a combined 16-under to surge up the leaderboard into T4, and make the match play cut at the 2026 NCAA National Championship on Monday. The Gators had the low round of the day (-12) by eight shots and are scheduled to face the defending National Champions, Oklahoma State in the National Quarterfinals tomorrow at 10:40 a.m.
Live coverage of Tuesday's match play rounds will be available on Babygrande Golf and Golf Channel. Quarterfinal coverage begins on Babygrande Golf from 10 a.m. to noon ET before shifting to Golf Channel from 1-3:30 p.m. ET.
Florida had a final team round of 12-under 284 for the program's second-lowest by par at the National Championship and one back of the program record (-13) in 2001 when the Gators swept both the team and individual titles. After sitting 5-over through the first two rounds, UF ended 11-under for their third-lowest 72-hole score at the National Championship, only trailing 26-under in 2001 and 16-under in 1994, both national championship winning seasons.
Both the Gators and Cowboys finished 11-under for the stroke play portion, however Florida earned the tiebreaker to be tabbed the No. 4 seed and Oklahoma State No. 5. The meeting is the first between both schools at NCAAs as the two historic college golf programs faced off in 2004 in the Hooters Match Play and 2006 Callaway Golf Collegiate.
The winner will meet either No. 1 Auburn or No. 8 Stanford, who won a four-for-two playoff, in the semifinals tomorrow at 5:05 p.m. The other side of the bracket features matchups of No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 UCLA (second winner of playoff) or No. 3 Vanderbilt or No. 6 Arizona.
The Gators are 2-0 in quarterfinals action all-time with victories over Virginia in 2023 and Texas in 2025, both times rallying down 2-0. UF reaches match play for the second consecutive season and third time in the last four years, joining only Auburn to accomplish the feat. Florida is 4-1 in match play at the National Championship and are 14-4 in postseason match play since 2022.
Out of the gates birdies were falling for Florida as they made rolled in seven in the first 19 holes, including three on the first hole (10). The Gators didn't count a bogey until their 18th counting hole. Paired with the LSU Tigers – who shot 18-under yesterday, one shot back of the NCAA record – also were matching the Gator birdies as the two were tied early in the round.
Florida pushed ahead of the old SEC cross division rival by three shots at the turn led by Parker Sands going 3-under and Zack Swanwick 2-under through the first nine. The third Gator to make the turn bogey-free and under par was Luke Poulter at 1-under to push UF in 7th by a shot and three shots clear of the cut, and the Gators never looked back, finishing with a nine-shot cushion.
Part of 20 birdie barrage, Florida continued its surge on the front nine started by Swanwick's birdie-birdie start. The sophomore knocked another back-to-back on five and six, which included a 55-foot-plus birdie on first hole. He tied his career-low overall with a 6-under 66, marking his second 66 of this year's postseason when he shot the number in the final round of stroke play at the SEC Championship.
At one point in the round, all five UF golfers were 2-plus under par. Sands was the first into the clubhouse with a 1-under 71, his second in his NCAA Championship debut. The round was his sixth under par outing in his postseason debut, adding to his resume of T2 at Regionals and T17 (-5) with two victories at the SEC Championship.
After Swanwick closed with his seventh birdie of the round, Matthew Kress finished with an even-par 72, the non-counting score for Florida. In his fourth National Championship, he recorded his eighth ever or better round all-time at the tournament. He climbed 46 spots to finish T26 at 2-under overall.
Kress also finished No. 16 in the PGA TOUR University program and earning PGA TOUR Americas membership for the 2026 season. He is set to make his professional debut at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open presented by Syndeo (June 25-28). Kress also will be exempt into Second Stage of the current season's PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
In the sixth year of the program, Kress becomes the fifth Gator to graduate through the program joining Fred Biondi (No. 2 – 2023), Ricky Castillo (No. 9 – 2023), Ian Gilligan (No. 4 – 2025) and Yuxin Lin (No. 10 – 2023).
Poulter followed the Gator veteran and rolled in Florida's final birdie to post a 1-under 71. The junior bounced back from his first two rounds of 76 (+4) and 74 (+2) with a 68 (-4) and 71 (-1) the last two rounds.
Closing out the historic round, Jack Turner shot his second 4-under 68 and third straight par or better round this week to produce a 72-hole score of 282 (-6) and finish T14 earning NCAA All-Tournament team and securing his third straight year of All-America honors. It was the junior's fifth postseason round in the 60s (64, 68, 68, 68 & 69) for the his seventh even or better and fifth under par in the 10th postseason round this season.
The 6-under is the fourth-lowest by a Gator at the National Championship, the lowest since Daniel Stone (-4) in 1994 and one back of Fred Biondi (-7) in 2023 when he was crowned the Individual National Champion and UF's last national title.
Florida's depth was a defining factor throughout stroke play as all five players delivered crucial contributions at different stages of the championship entering today's final 18-holes. Zack Swanwick set the tone with an opening-round 3-under 69 that positioned the Gators in contention, while Matthew Kress provided veteran consistency with an even-par 72 in round one and a key 1-under 71 in round three as Florida battled to advance. Jack Turner's NCAA Championship career-low second-round 4-under 68 helped keep the Gators within striking distance of the match-play cut.
Luke Poulter responded with a 4-under 68 in the third round to power UF through the 54-hole cut. The postseason newcomer Parker Sands also played a pivotal role, rebounding from an opening-round 78 with a 1-under 71 in round two and a counting score of 1-over 73 in round three. Every member of the lineup stepped, showcased why Florida was tabbed by some media as the "deepest team in college golf:.
Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On today's performance...
"It's obviously the biggest day of the year with the season on the line. We counted four under par scores today, including a brilliant 66 from Zach Swanwick and right behind him in Jack Turner at 68. This has been our goal from August and the first day that we come together, to make match play at the national championship and have a chance to win the tournament, and we achieved that today."
On going from today into match play tomorrow...
"Winning in 2023 you learn that it's just an absolute marathon in this tournament. I think we learned the hard way last year, losing to Virginia in the semifinals. We ran out of gas, but going back to my comment about August, Markus Fürst (Sports Performance Coach) has been pushing our guys to be ready for tomorrow. It's a lot of golf, but you got to get through that 18-holes in the morning, and get your energy back to be ready to play another one in the afternoon. A long day ahead, but we're excited for the opportunity."
National Championship Quarterfinals - No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State
10:40 a.m. | Luke Poulter vs. Eric Lee
10:50 a.m. | Zack Swanwick vs. Ethan Fang
11 a.m. | Parker Sands vs. Fillip Fahlberg-Johnsson
11:10 a.m. | Matthew Kress vs. Preston Stout
11:20 a.m. | Jack Turner vs. Gaven Lane
National Championship Match Play
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 Stanford
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 UCLA
No. 3 Vanderiblt vs. No. 6 Arizona
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State
Florida Scores
T14. Jack Turner – 74-68-72-68 = 282 (-6)
T26. Zack Swanwick – 69-77-74-66 = 286 (-2)
T39. Luke Poulter – 76-74-68-71 = 289 (+1)
T49. Matthew Kress – 72-77-71-72 = 292 (+4)
T58. Parker Sands – 78-71-73-71 = 293 (+5)
Team Leaderboard
1. Auburn (-26)
2. Texas (-23)
3. Vanderbilt (-12)
T4. Florida (-11)
T4. Oklahoma State
6. Arizona (-3)
T7. Stanford (-2)^
T7. UCLA^
T7. North Carolina
T7. Tennessee
-- Top-8 match play cut --
11. Virginia (+1)
12. LSU (+3)
13. Duke (+4)
14. Oklahoma (+5)
15. San Diego (+24)
Live coverage of Tuesday's match play rounds will be available on Babygrande Golf and Golf Channel. Quarterfinal coverage begins on Babygrande Golf from 10 a.m. to noon ET before shifting to Golf Channel from 1-3:30 p.m. ET.
Florida had a final team round of 12-under 284 for the program's second-lowest by par at the National Championship and one back of the program record (-13) in 2001 when the Gators swept both the team and individual titles. After sitting 5-over through the first two rounds, UF ended 11-under for their third-lowest 72-hole score at the National Championship, only trailing 26-under in 2001 and 16-under in 1994, both national championship winning seasons.
Both the Gators and Cowboys finished 11-under for the stroke play portion, however Florida earned the tiebreaker to be tabbed the No. 4 seed and Oklahoma State No. 5. The meeting is the first between both schools at NCAAs as the two historic college golf programs faced off in 2004 in the Hooters Match Play and 2006 Callaway Golf Collegiate.
The winner will meet either No. 1 Auburn or No. 8 Stanford, who won a four-for-two playoff, in the semifinals tomorrow at 5:05 p.m. The other side of the bracket features matchups of No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 UCLA (second winner of playoff) or No. 3 Vanderbilt or No. 6 Arizona.
The Gators are 2-0 in quarterfinals action all-time with victories over Virginia in 2023 and Texas in 2025, both times rallying down 2-0. UF reaches match play for the second consecutive season and third time in the last four years, joining only Auburn to accomplish the feat. Florida is 4-1 in match play at the National Championship and are 14-4 in postseason match play since 2022.
Out of the gates birdies were falling for Florida as they made rolled in seven in the first 19 holes, including three on the first hole (10). The Gators didn't count a bogey until their 18th counting hole. Paired with the LSU Tigers – who shot 18-under yesterday, one shot back of the NCAA record – also were matching the Gator birdies as the two were tied early in the round.
Florida pushed ahead of the old SEC cross division rival by three shots at the turn led by Parker Sands going 3-under and Zack Swanwick 2-under through the first nine. The third Gator to make the turn bogey-free and under par was Luke Poulter at 1-under to push UF in 7th by a shot and three shots clear of the cut, and the Gators never looked back, finishing with a nine-shot cushion.
Part of 20 birdie barrage, Florida continued its surge on the front nine started by Swanwick's birdie-birdie start. The sophomore knocked another back-to-back on five and six, which included a 55-foot-plus birdie on first hole. He tied his career-low overall with a 6-under 66, marking his second 66 of this year's postseason when he shot the number in the final round of stroke play at the SEC Championship.
At one point in the round, all five UF golfers were 2-plus under par. Sands was the first into the clubhouse with a 1-under 71, his second in his NCAA Championship debut. The round was his sixth under par outing in his postseason debut, adding to his resume of T2 at Regionals and T17 (-5) with two victories at the SEC Championship.
After Swanwick closed with his seventh birdie of the round, Matthew Kress finished with an even-par 72, the non-counting score for Florida. In his fourth National Championship, he recorded his eighth ever or better round all-time at the tournament. He climbed 46 spots to finish T26 at 2-under overall.
Kress also finished No. 16 in the PGA TOUR University program and earning PGA TOUR Americas membership for the 2026 season. He is set to make his professional debut at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open presented by Syndeo (June 25-28). Kress also will be exempt into Second Stage of the current season's PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
In the sixth year of the program, Kress becomes the fifth Gator to graduate through the program joining Fred Biondi (No. 2 – 2023), Ricky Castillo (No. 9 – 2023), Ian Gilligan (No. 4 – 2025) and Yuxin Lin (No. 10 – 2023).
Poulter followed the Gator veteran and rolled in Florida's final birdie to post a 1-under 71. The junior bounced back from his first two rounds of 76 (+4) and 74 (+2) with a 68 (-4) and 71 (-1) the last two rounds.
Closing out the historic round, Jack Turner shot his second 4-under 68 and third straight par or better round this week to produce a 72-hole score of 282 (-6) and finish T14 earning NCAA All-Tournament team and securing his third straight year of All-America honors. It was the junior's fifth postseason round in the 60s (64, 68, 68, 68 & 69) for the his seventh even or better and fifth under par in the 10th postseason round this season.
The 6-under is the fourth-lowest by a Gator at the National Championship, the lowest since Daniel Stone (-4) in 1994 and one back of Fred Biondi (-7) in 2023 when he was crowned the Individual National Champion and UF's last national title.
Florida's depth was a defining factor throughout stroke play as all five players delivered crucial contributions at different stages of the championship entering today's final 18-holes. Zack Swanwick set the tone with an opening-round 3-under 69 that positioned the Gators in contention, while Matthew Kress provided veteran consistency with an even-par 72 in round one and a key 1-under 71 in round three as Florida battled to advance. Jack Turner's NCAA Championship career-low second-round 4-under 68 helped keep the Gators within striking distance of the match-play cut.
Luke Poulter responded with a 4-under 68 in the third round to power UF through the 54-hole cut. The postseason newcomer Parker Sands also played a pivotal role, rebounding from an opening-round 78 with a 1-under 71 in round two and a counting score of 1-over 73 in round three. Every member of the lineup stepped, showcased why Florida was tabbed by some media as the "deepest team in college golf:.
Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On today's performance...
"It's obviously the biggest day of the year with the season on the line. We counted four under par scores today, including a brilliant 66 from Zach Swanwick and right behind him in Jack Turner at 68. This has been our goal from August and the first day that we come together, to make match play at the national championship and have a chance to win the tournament, and we achieved that today."
On going from today into match play tomorrow...
"Winning in 2023 you learn that it's just an absolute marathon in this tournament. I think we learned the hard way last year, losing to Virginia in the semifinals. We ran out of gas, but going back to my comment about August, Markus Fürst (Sports Performance Coach) has been pushing our guys to be ready for tomorrow. It's a lot of golf, but you got to get through that 18-holes in the morning, and get your energy back to be ready to play another one in the afternoon. A long day ahead, but we're excited for the opportunity."
National Championship Quarterfinals - No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State
10:40 a.m. | Luke Poulter vs. Eric Lee
10:50 a.m. | Zack Swanwick vs. Ethan Fang
11 a.m. | Parker Sands vs. Fillip Fahlberg-Johnsson
11:10 a.m. | Matthew Kress vs. Preston Stout
11:20 a.m. | Jack Turner vs. Gaven Lane
National Championship Match Play
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 Stanford
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 UCLA
No. 3 Vanderiblt vs. No. 6 Arizona
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State
Florida Scores
T14. Jack Turner – 74-68-72-68 = 282 (-6)
T26. Zack Swanwick – 69-77-74-66 = 286 (-2)
T39. Luke Poulter – 76-74-68-71 = 289 (+1)
T49. Matthew Kress – 72-77-71-72 = 292 (+4)
T58. Parker Sands – 78-71-73-71 = 293 (+5)
Team Leaderboard
1. Auburn (-26)
2. Texas (-23)
3. Vanderbilt (-12)
T4. Florida (-11)
T4. Oklahoma State
6. Arizona (-3)
T7. Stanford (-2)^
T7. UCLA^
T7. North Carolina
T7. Tennessee
-- Top-8 match play cut --
11. Virginia (+1)
12. LSU (+3)
13. Duke (+4)
14. Oklahoma (+5)
15. San Diego (+24)
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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