Florida Men’s Golf Tees Off at Gator Invitational

Florida men’s golf is looking for its seventh consecutive win in the 49th edition of the Gator Invitational this weekend. 

The Gators started off their spring season at the Sea Best Invitational in Jacksonville. They won the tournament with a score of 10-under beating UNC-Wilmington by one stroke. This tacks on another win to their last four consecutive appearances at the event.

Florida led the tournament on par-4 holes in the Sea Best Invitational, with an average of 3.89 and a total score of 6-under. The Gators also totaled 120 pars, the most of any team. Their three-way tie with Liberty and Texas A&M for total birdies, though, may be the most interesting factor to look for in the weekend event, as Liberty will be competing once again.

As far as individuals in last week’s matchup, Matthew Kress, Josh Bai and Trevor Gutschewski were Florida’s strongest performers. Kress and Bai tied for third at 6-under. Kress and Gutschewski tied for the least amount of bogies with one. Bai also tied for fourth in birdies with 10. He was only off first by one. 

This weekend, one of Florida’s harshest opponents may be Auburn. The Tigers are No. 2 in the country, and they will be the only other top 10 team in the event. Additionally, Auburn golfers Jake Albert and Jackson Koivun received SEC weekly honors after their showout at the Amer Ari Invitational last week. Auburn won by 13 strokes over  Texas. Koivan, specifically, ended with one of the best performances in the school’s history with just one bogey, 24 birdies, one eagle and 28 pars.

The Gators will have home-course advantage playing at Mark Bostick Golf Course, but besting 17 other schools will still be a feat. 

The No. 10 Gators tee off at 7:20 a.m. on Saturday for 36 holes and 8 on Sunday for 18 holes.

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