Florida Men’s Golf Leads Gators Invitational After Two Rounds

Backed by brilliant play from Matthew Kress and Jack Turner, Florida men’s golf is up three strokes on Auburn in the Gators Invitational. 

Florida men’s golfer Matthew Kress was nearly lights out on the first day of play at Mark Bostick Golf Course, shooting six under par through 16 holes of the second round to lift the Gators to second on Saturday. His round was suspended due to darkness. 

The field for the invitational features the last two national champions in Oklahoma State and Auburn and 17 of the top-150 ranked amateurs in the country, including No. 1 Jackson Koivun of Auburn and No. 3 Preston Stout of Oklahoma State. 

UF shot well as a team and is three shots ahead of second place Auburn with a team 22 under par this Valentine’s Day to finish the 36-hole marathon first behind Jack Turner’s blistering 57 through the final 16 holes.

After being down nine strokes earlier in Round 2, Florida rallied in hopes of retaining its dominance of the Gators Invitational, having won six in a row and 30 of the last 47 team titles at the event. Under Gators coach J.C. Deacon, Florida has won the Gators Invitational six times.

Deacon’s Gators have won 35 total tournament titles. Securing victory on Sunday would be the 21st tournament win in the last four seasons. This year has already marked Deacon’s sixth season of three-plus single-season victories.

Teeing off at 7:20 a.m., the Gators began at the top of the leaderboard, sitting at even through holes No. 5-7 as Parker Sands pushed UF ahead of Auburn and USF early as he was bogey-less through nine. He finished the day shooting a 67 in Round 1 and currently has a 65 with one hole left.

Florida pulled ahead of the pack early but not until Auburn and No. 1 amateur player in the world, Jackson Koivun, gained steam. 

Florida finished the first 18 holes of play 9-under, two strokes behind Auburn. 

Florida and Auburn battled back and forth throughout the day, trading blows in a heavyweight bout for first as the Gators pulled ahead by three shots despite the dominant play from tournament leads Koivun and teammate Jake Albert. The Gators and Tigers found themselves in a two-team race for first with Oklahoma State looming but distant.

Kress held his own throughout Saturday, as he was in a group with Koivun and Stout, who shot 8-under par and 5-under, respectively. Kress finished 6-under for the day and placed T3. Sophomore Parker Sands carried the load for the Gators early and finished Saturday 4-under par.

Zack Swanwick also closed strong with three birdies on holes 10-17 as Auburn players melted down around him for a round of 1-under 70 after he was 1-over through 9 holes in Round 2. He is tied for 13th while Trevor Gutschweski is tied for 11th. Rounding out the lineup, Noah Kent finished 5-under overall and sixth in the tournament. 

Florida’s individual players did not have similar success, as all three of Parker Severs, Josh Bai and Parker Bell finished above par.

UF returns to action Sunday at 8 a.m. barring inclement weather. 

Florida Scores:
T3. Matthew Kress (-6)
T3. Jack Turner (-6)
6. Noah Kent (-5)

8. Parker Sands (-4)
11. Trevor Gutschewski (-3)

13. Zack Swanwick (-1)
T24. Josh Bai* (+1)
T24. Parker Severs* (+1)
31. Parker Bell* (+2)

*Competing as individuals

Team Scores
1. Florida (-22)

2.  Auburn (-19)
3. Oklahoma State (-5)
4. USF (+1)
5. Charlotte (+5)
6. Notre Dame (+6)
7. Liberty (+7)
T8. FGCU (+12)
T8. Indiana (+12)
10. Georgia Southern (+13)
T11. Chattanooga (+15)
T11. Penn State (+15)
13. Jacksonville (+18)
14. North Florida (+19)

15. Furman (+20)

16. UCF (+22)

17. West Virginia (+23 )

18. FAU (+28)

You can watch Gators men’s golf on ESPN and the SEC Network.

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