No. 4 Florida Men’s Golf Continues Fall Play in Chicago

Florida men’s golf continues its fall play Friday. The No. 4 Gators will travel to Chicago for the three-day OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational hosted by the University of Illinois. 

The tournament is at Olympia Fields Country Club with 18 holes each day. The course is 7,353 yards and par is 70. 

According to the GCAA Coaches’ Preseason Poll, the Gators are one of nine top 25 teams playing in the tournament. The Gators will face a 15-team field featuring No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Arizona State, No. 9 Florida State, No. 15 Texas Tech, No. 11 Illinois, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Alabama, No. 20 Texas A&M, Stanford, Indiana, Loyola Marymount University, Purdue, and Baylor. 

The Gators’ lineup is definitive: No. 1 – Jack Turner, No. 2 – Luke Poulter, No. 3 – Zack Swanwick, No. 4 – Matthew Kress and No. 5 – Parker Bell.

All five are familiar faces for the Gators.

Juniors Jack Turner and Luke Poulter are both Orlando natives who’ve been staples of Florida’s lineup. Turner has played in 23 collegiate tournaments with a stroke average of 71.5, and Poulter has 18 tournaments on his college resume with a stroke average of 71.7. Both have the collegiate honor of two-time SEC Freshman of the Week.

As the only sophomore in the Gators’ lineup, Zack Swanwick is the youngest of the pack. He’s played in 13 total tournaments and made the All-SEC Freshman team last season. But at the Fighting Illini Invitational, he finished 9-over. 

Seniors Matthew Kress and Parker Bell close out the lineup. In 2023, Kress was named to the All-SEC Freshman team and SEC Golfer of the Week. He finished 8-over last season at the Fighting Illini Collegiate. On the other end, Bell led the Gators at the invitational last year finishing 1-under and tied at 14th overall. Bell has played in 24 collegiate tournaments, and Kress has a total of 39 tournaments under his belt. 

This weekend will mark Florida’s 11th time competing in the Fighting Illini Collegiate. In 2022, the Gators finished  tied for second with Illinois, 12 strokes behind the winner, Stanford. The last time Florida won this event the 2010 season.

Tee time on Friday and Saturday is 9 a.m. and Sunday’s tee time is 8:30 a.m.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Men's Golf, Golf, SEC