NCAA Golf News

No. 8 Gators Start Season at Olympia Fields

No. 8 Gators Start Season at Olympia Fields


TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Dates:
Friday, Sept. 15 – Sunday, Sept. 17
Location: Olympia Fields, Ill. – Olympia Fields CC
Host: University of Illinois
Course Par/Yardage: 70 / 7,353
Format: 18 holes each day 
Tee Times: TBA
Scoring: Golf Stat
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
 
TEE OFF
The defending National and SEC Champions, the Florida men’s golf team, opens up the 2023-24 regular season at Olympia Fields at the OFCC / Fighting Illini Invitational this weekend. 

LINEUP

No. 1 – Parker Bell

No. 2 – Ian Gilligan

No. 3 – Matthew Kress

No. 4 – Jack Turner

No. 5 – Luke Poulter

COMPETING TEAMS (Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches’ Poll)

No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Florida State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Illinois (host), No. 11 Texas, No. 13 Alabama, No. 15 Pepperdine, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, Baylor, Michigan State and Purdue. 

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Gators have competed in the event eight times with the most recent last season, where they finished T2 behind a runner-up finish from current Korn Ferry Tour member Ricky Castillo. Florida won the tournament in the fall of 2010.

HISTORIC SEASON REWIND 

It was a historic season for the Gators in 2022-23 that led to the program’s fifth National Championship and 16th SEC Championship.

Florida captured a national title for the first time in 22 years last week as the Gators swept NCAAs with Fred Biondi winning the NCAA Individual Championship. It was the third UF golfer (Nick Gilliam 2001, Bob Murphy 1966) to achieve the honor and second time in 30 years the program swept both titles. Florida is one of seven schools to achieve the mark twice. The Gators won the NCAA team title, individual title and conference title in the same season for the first time in program history. 

Head Coach J.C. Deacon was tabbed both the SEC and National Coach of the Year for the first time in his career as assistant coach Dudley Hart earned National Assistant Coach of the Year. It was the first time in history that UF won both awards in the same season. 

UF reached match play at nationals for the first time in program history after playing in the fourth round of stroke play for the fifth time overall.  Florida finished stroke play in 2nd with a score of 1118 (-2), its lowest all-time at Grayhawk and first under par team score at the NCAAs since 2006. The 1,118 was the lowest round score at the National Championships in program history. A final round of…

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