Gators Men’s Golf 20 strokes Ahead of Match-Play Cut
The Florida Gators men’s golf team is on pace to set a program record in 54-hole score and by par in the SEC Tournament after Day 2.
The Gators shot -9 in round two Thursday afternoon at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons, Ga., and sit in fourth place with a -20 score behind Ole Miss (-21), Texas (-22) and Auburn (-27). Florida is eight shots inside the top-eight match play cut.
All four scores that factored in the second round were under par for back-to-back days. The team low round was the seventh straight and 18th overall in 29 total rounds this season.
Florida is on pace to shoot its program best in 54-hole score (828) and par (-16) at the SEC Championships. Their score is 540 (-20), and the team will need to shoot a minimum of 287 (+7) to break the record Friday.
Logging the two low scores for the Gators were sophomore Parker Sands and junior Luke Poulter, each at -3. Sands moves to -4 through two rounds in first career appearance at the conference tournament, as he has shot under par in seven of his last eight rounds. Poulter’s round was his career-low at the SEC Championship as he climbed up 21 spots to 31st.
“[Sands] is really becoming a reliable player for us and I’m proud of his development because he had to earn it, and that’s honestly where real confidence comes from,” UF coach J.C. Deacon said. “It’s pretty impressive what he’s doing for his first SEC championship.”
Sitting is sixth place is junior Jack Turner. He shot a -2 on day two for his seventh under par round in eight total this week.
The Orlando native is 8-under through two rounds and has only carded three bogeys overall. He trails four strokes behind solo leader Jackson Koivun of Auburn, who looks to capture his third straight conference individual title.
Rounding out the lineup for UF was freshman Zack Swanwick and senior Matthew Kress. Swanwick shot -1 for the second consecutive day as he sits tied for 31st alongside Poulter.
Meanwhile, Kress went +2 on the day after a -3 round Thursday. Kress earned two bogeys and two double-bogeys on the front nine, but bounced back with four birdies on the back nine.
“All we got to worry about is ourselves and focus on our process, play our game the way we want to play,” Deacon said. “But at the same time, we got to keep the pedal down, and try to win this thing.”
Friday’s final round of stroke play will crown the SEC Individual Champion and determine the top-eight teams which advance to match play. The Gators look to reach match play for the fifth straight season and the seventh time in nine opportunities since the format was added in 2017.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Men's Golf
