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United Kingdom Gators Finish Fall Season at East Lake Cup
LINEUPNo. 1 -Matthew KressNo. 2 - Ian GilliganNo. 3 - Luke Poulter No. 4 - Tyler WilkesNo. 5 - Parker Bell
FORMATThe tournament format features 18 holes of stroke play to determine an individual male and female champion, and to set seedings for team match play. There will then be two rounds of match play to determine a team champion, along with a consolation match to determine third place. COMPETING TEAMS Florida Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina
TOURNAMENT HISTORYSince 2015, the East Lake Cup is considered one of the premium college golf tournaments. Schools earn a spot in the field after making it to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships the year prior. Florida will be making its East Lake Cup debut this week at Atlanta Athletic Club.
The Atlanta Athletic Club was founded in 1898 and opened East Lake Golf Club in 1904 as a complement to their downtown Atlanta fitness club. 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of Atlanta Athletic Club. The Atlanta Athletic Club has hosted numerous national and international golf events, including: three PGA Championships (1981, 2001 and 2011), U.S. Open Championship (1976), Ryder Cup Matches (1963), U.S. Women's Open Championship (1990), and the KPMG Women's PGA Championship (2021). The Club will host the 2025 U.S. Girls' Junior, 2030 U.S. Amateur and 2035 U.S. Women's Amateur championships.
LAST TIME OUT The Gators took care of business at the Georgetown Intercollegiate with a 17-shot victory behind Matthew Kress' first collegiate victory. Florida led after round two of 281 (-7) and finished with a 54-hole score of 864 (E) and won the field by 17 shots. The victory marked the first of the 2023-24 season and the 22nd all-time under head coach J.C. Deacon. Trailing the lead by four shots entering today, Kress flipped it and won the event by four strokes. The All-SEC Freshman selection last season, he shot the lowest round of the afternoon with a 3-under 69. He made five birdies in round three for a total and tournament-leading 14. Two Gators finishing runner-up and setting career best finishes were Jack Turner (competing an individual) and Tyler Wilkes. The duo finished with a 54-hole score of 1-under 215 at Woodmont Country Club.
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 279 (-1) marks the third consecutive under round after back-to-back 2-under 278s in round two and three. The 2-under performance by UF is the best round at the NCAA Championships since the opening round in 2007.
Florida made its 56th NCAA Championship appearance this year, ranking fifth most in the country after a third-round comeback at Bath Regional saw Florida erase a seven-shot deficit led by a trio of rounds in the 60s by Yuxin Lin (66, -5), John DuBois (69, -2) and Ricky Castillo (69, -2).
The Gators won the SEC Championship title for the first time in 12 years. The Gators got revenge and defeated No. 1 Vanderbilt 3-1-1 at Sea Island after falling 3-2 in 2022. Senior John DuBois, the 2022 SEC Individual Champion, sank a 15-footer for the match-clinching point.
Florida claimed six team titles and six individual titles this season, the most since seven in 2003-04 as it was the sixth time the Gators have won at least six events in a season. The six medalist honors tied the program record in a season and only the third time in Florida history, the others were in 1989-90 and 2010-11.
Prior to the postseason, the Orange and Blue won four regular season tournaments, including the season opener and finale. At the Augusta Haskins Award Invite, Florida finished 39-under par, to tie second all-time in program history by par and only three shots away from the record (-42). At the Gators Invitational, Florida won its home event for the fourth straight year the 29th time overall in the tournament's 46th occurrence.
Four golfers (Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, John DuBois and Yuxin Lin) all earned PING All-American honors, tied for the most selections by a school this year and tied the Florida record. It was the seventh time the Gators had four selections with the last time being in 2006. Biondi, Castillo, Lin and Quentin Debove were also selected to the PING All-Region Team. The trio of Biondi, Castillo and Lin collected All-SEC honors with Matthew Kress collecting freshman team recognition.
Success was also obtained off the course with Biondi, DuBois and Quentin Debove being named GCCA All-American Scholars, which marked the third consecutive years with multiple honorees under Deacon and most selections in a single season in program history.
THE CHAMP RETURNSFollowing the national championship victory, senior John DuBois announced his return for his 5th year.
DuBois finished undefeated (3-0) in match play at the NCAA National Championship, including winning his semifinals and finals matches 1Up with victories on 18. He also finished T18 in the stroke play portion with rounds of 70-70-69-72 for a 1-over 281.
A postseason hero, DuBois secured the match-clinching point for Florida's first SEC Championship in 12 years vs. No. 1 Vanderbilt behind his 15-foot par putt. The senior was 3-down multiple times, including through 11 holes. He went 2-1 in match play and owns a career record of 7-2 in postseason match play (SECs and NCAAs).
A PING All-American selection this year, he won the 2022 SEC Individual Championship for his first collegiate win. Unranked by Golfstat at the time, he defeated the No. 1, 2, 8, 12, 13 and 17 ranked players. He became the 25th Gator to win the conference individual title, the most by any SEC school with his first of multiple clutch shots on 18 at Sea Island Golf Club.
DuBois also sent Florida to the SEC Championship Match Play Finals for the first time in program history last year with the match-clinching victory in extra holes (19) after he teed off the 18th hole 1-down.
At the 2023 NCAA Bath Regional, DuBois helped the Gators overcome a seven-shot deficit with a final round of 1-under 69.
PROMOTEDPrior to the 2023-24 season getting underway, head coach J.C. Deacon announced the promotion of Gator Great and assistant Coach Dudley Hart to Associate Head Coach.
NEW GATORSFlorida welcomed four newcomers this season in freshmen Jay Brooks (Boca Raton, Fla.), Rylan Shim (Centreville, Virginia), and Jack Turner (Orlando, Fla.) and All-American transfer Ian Gilligan (Reno, N.V.)
THE TURNThe Gators begin the spring portion of the season at Pablo Creek Collegiate in a variety of match play formats vs. Jacksonville University.
