Gators Earn Spot in SEC Golf Tourney Quarterfinals
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The Gators shot their lowest round (267, -13) all-time in the SEC Championship to set up a quarterfinal matchup with Oklahoma.
It is the fifth straight season Florida has earned a spot in the conference championship. They earned the second seed and will face the seven seed Sooners at 8:20 Saturday morning.
“This is one of the few really big days of the year where there’s some pressure out there to play well and for us to beat all the teams in this conference today is big,” UF coach J.C. Deacon said Friday. “It was a team effort this week, contributions from everyone, but that was the appetizer, and now it’s the main course with match play.”
In the last four years, the Gators are 5-1 in quarterfinals action and 3-2 in the semifinals.
The winner of Saturday’s quarterfinals round will face either No.3 Texas or No. 6 Mississippi State in the semifinals later that afternoon at 2 p.m. Florida defeated Texas in the national tournament last season, winning 3-2.
“I feel good this year because we have a lot of match play experience with the four guys who have played,” Deacon said. “It’s going to be a familiar spot, but you have to play great golf and not give holes away. We have to continue to do what we’ve been building on all year.”
Deacon told reporters that his group has been readying themselves for these high-pressure scenarios all year.
“It goes back to August in the weight room. We’ve been preparing for eight, nine months for tomorrow. We know how long the day is going to be, so you have to stay in the moment and enjoy it. I also think the biggest thing is to embrace this experience since so hard to be in match play in this conference.”
SEC Championship Quarterfinals – No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
8:20 a.m. – Zack Swanwick vs. Jase Summy
8:30 a.m. – Jack Turner vs. Coltrane Mittag
8:40 a.m. – Parker Sands vs. Clark Van Gaalen
8:50 a.m. – Matthew Kress vs. PJ Maybank III
9 a.m. – Luke Poulter vs. Ryder Cowan
SEC Championship Match Play Bracket
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 South Carolina
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
No. 3 Texas vs. No. 6 Mississippi State
No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Texas A&M
Florida Player Scoreboard
T7. Jack Turner – 64-68-70 = 202 (-8)
T13. Luke Poulter – 71-67-66 = 204 (-6)
T13. Zack Swanwick – 69-69-66 – 204 (-6)
T17. Matthew Kress – 67-72-66 = 205 (-5)
T17. Parker Sands – 69-67-69 = 205 (-5)
Team Leaderboard
1. Auburn (-39)
2. Florida (-32)
3. Texas (-30)
4. Ole Miss (-20)
5. Texas A&M (-16)
6. Mississippi State (-14)
7. Oklahoma (-13)
T8. South Carolina (-12)^
T8. Arkansas (-12)
T8. Georgia (-12)
— Match Play Cut—
11. Alabama (-6)
12. LSU (-5)
13. Tennessee (-4)
14. Vanderbilt (+3)
15. Missouri (+9)
16. Kentucky (+28)
^Won in a playoff
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Men's Golf
