An 8-under back nine by the No. 16 Gators carried them to the day one lead.
The Gators shot an opening team round of 278 (-10) for a two shot lead heading into round two tomorrow at Southern Highlands Golf Club.
Florida was on top of the leaderboard the whole day and created separation behind an 8-under back nine from the counting rounds. Ian Gilligan started the charge with the first birdie on 11 and added back-to-back on 14 and 15 while going bogey-free after a bogey on his second hole of the day. The native of Reno, N.V., his round of 67 (-5) marked his seventh consecutive round of par or better in the spring. He enters tomorrow one-shot behind leader Jack Lundin from Missouri.
Matthew Kress kept the birdies falling with three over a four-hole stretch on 13-16 to finish with a 69 (-3). He totaled a team-leading 78 birdies and is tied for 7th.
Shooting his sixth straight round of par or even with a 70 (-2) was Tyler Wilkes, who sits T17. His eagle on the par-4 16th was his third of the season, tied for the team-high.
Both Parker Bell and Luke Poulter turned in rounds of even par 72 to mark Florida’s counting rounds of either par or under. Poulter’s low round was his fifth consecutive and Bell fought back to even after his double on 12 with a birdie on 13 and a great putt on 18. The pair are tied for 39th.
Competing as an individual, John DuBois was the third Gator to post a 72 (E) in round one.
Florida tees off round two tomorrow at 1:40 p.m.
Florida Scores
Team Leaderboard
| Place | School | Rd. 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 278 |
| 2 | Illinois | 280 |
| T3 | San Diego State | 282 |
| T3 | Texas A&M | 282 |
| T3 | Pepperdine | 282 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 283 |
| T7 | Oklahoma | 284 |
| T7 | Texas | 284 |
| 9 | New Mexico | 286 |
| T10 | Auburn | 287 |
| T10 | Arizona…..
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