Gilligan takes individual title in a playoff, leads host Florida to team crown in Gators Invitational

 

   Behind its rising star, Ian Gilligan, a senior from Reno, Nev., Florida held off Oklahoma State by a shot to capture the team title in its home tournament, the Gator Invitational, for the sixth straight time, at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.

   With Gilligan, who has risen to No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), claiming the individual title in a playoff with Charlotte’s Justin Matthews, a junior from Canada, in deteriorating weather conditions Sunday, Florida closed with a 2-under-par 278 over the 6,701-yard, par-70 Mark Bostick layout for a 17-under 823 total.

   The Gators, a Southeastern Conference power that was No. 13 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, had opened with a sparkling 9-under 271, before adding a 6-under 274 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round that gave them a two-shot edge over Big 12 power Oklahoma State going into the final round.

   Gilligan, coming off a tie for second place in a loaded field at the Southwestern Invitational at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. last month, contributed a 4-under 66 to Florida’s strong start in the opening round and added a 3-under 67 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to get a share of the lead with Matthews going into the final round.

   Matthews had erupted for a sizzling 6-under 64 in Saturday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 1-under 69 as he joined Gilligan at the top of the individual leaderboard at 7-under going into the final round.

   Gilligan had to gut out a par on the 18^th hole after he was forced to sit out a rain delay with two holes to go in his round, a par that completed a 1-under 69 that both delivered the team title for Florida and forced a playoff with Matthews for the individual crown as each landed on 8-under 202. Matthews matched Gilligan’s final round of 1-under 69.

   A par by Gilligan on the second hole of the playoff gave him his sixth career individual collegiate title and his second as a Gator. Gilligan began his college career at Long Beach State.

   Oklahoma State, No. 7 in the Scoreboard rankings, was right with the hosts the whole way.

   After opening with a 3-under 277, the Cowboys ripped off a 10-under 270, the low team round of the tournament, in Saturday afternoon’s second round to creep within two shots of Florida going into the final round.

   Another 3-under 277 in the final round left Oklahoma State just a shot behind the Gators in second place with a 16-under 824 total.

   Oklahoma State was led by Preston Stout, a sophomore from Richardson, Texas and No. 69 in the WAGR, as he finished alone in third place, two shots behind Gilligan and Matthews at 6-under 204 after Stout closed with a sparkling 4-under 66.

   Stout had matched par in the opening round with a 70 before adding a 2-under 68 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Florida was coming off a solid start to its spring with a fifth-place finish in the Southwestern. The Gators had reached last spring’s NCAA Championship at the La Costa Spa & Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. in defense of the fifth national crown in the program’s rich history in 2023 by finishing in third place as a three seed in the West Lafayette Regional. Florida was unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.

   Oklahoma State was coming off an impressive team win in the Amer Ari Invitational at the Mauna Lani Resort Golf Club on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast to start the spring portion of its 2024-2025 schedule. The Cowboys advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa by finishing in third place as a five seed in the Rancho Sante Fe Regional, but were unable to reach the match-play bracket.

   A couple of Eagles, the Birds of Florida Gulf Coast of the ASUN Conference and the Birds of Georgia Southern of the Sun Belt Conference, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up 12 shots behind Oklahoma State at 4-under 836.

   Florida Gulf Coast, No. 66 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a solid 6-under 274 before adding back-to-back 1-over 281s in the final two rounds.

   Georgia Southern, No. 105 in the Scoreboard rankings, added a solid 8-under 272 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to its opening round of 1-under 279 before struggling a little in the final round with a 5-over 285.

   Charlotte, an American Athletic Conference representative, finished nine shots behind Florida Gulf Coast and Georgia Southern in fifth place with a 5-over 845 total.

   After opening with a 3-over 283, the 49ers, behind Matthews’ scintillating 64, posted a 3-under 277 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before struggling a little in the final round with a 5-over 285.

   Reigning AAC champion South Florida and Furman, a Southern Conference entry, were four shots behind Charlotte in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 9-over 849.

   The Bulls, No. 27 in the Scoreboard rankings, were very much in the hunt for the team title after adding a 5-under 275 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to their opening round of 6-under 274. But they struggled to a 300 in the difficult conditions of Sunday’s final round.

   South Florida failed to advance to last spring’s NCAA Championship as an eight seed in the Rancho Sante Fe Regional.

   Furman, No. 81 in the Scoreboard rankings, matched par in the opening round with a 280 and added a 4-over 284 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 285.

   Furman got a strong individual performance from Will Morlan, a senior from Alpharetta, Ga. who finished a shot behind Oklahoma State’s Stout in fourth place with a 5-under 205 total. Morlan matched Gilligan’s sparkling opening round of 4-under 66 and matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 70 before closing with a solid 1-under 69.

   Penn State, a Big Ten entry, opened the spring portion of its season by finishing in 10^th place with a 24-over 864. A regular in the Gators Invitational field, the Nittany Lions opened with an 8-over 288 and recorded its best round of the weekend, a 3-over 283, in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 293.

   Liberty, with several familiar names in the lineup, finished in 13^th place in the 14-team field with a 34-over 874 total. The Flames, one of Florida Gulf Coast’s ASUN rivals and No. 81 in the Scoreboard rankings, were solid in Saturday’s double round, matching par in the second round with a 280 after opening with a 4-over 284, but struggled mightily in Sunday’s difficult conditions with a final-round 310.

   Backing up Gilligan for the Gators were a couple of sophomores from Orlando, Fla., Jack Turner, who is No. 31 in the WAGR, and Luke Poulter, both of whom finished among a group of four players tied for sixth place at 3-under 207.

   Oh yeah, Florida had another player among that foursome at 3-under in Matthew Kress, a junior from Saratoga, Calif. who was competing as an individual. Kress was in the lineup as a redshirt freshman for the Gators in their run to the national championship two springs ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   After matching par in the opening round, Turner added a 1-under 69 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 2-under 68, low Gator among the counters for Florida in the final round. When the team wins by one shot, obviously every shot mattered.

   Poulter was solid throughout, adding a 2-under 68 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 69 before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Kress matched the low round of the day with his sparkling final round of 4-under 66 to get his share of sixth place. Kress had opened with a 1-over 71 before matching par with a 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   Veteran Florida head coach J.C. Deacon went with some of his youngsters to fill out his lineup for the Gators Invitational.

   Rylan Shim, a redshirt freshman from Centreville, Va., finished among the group tied for 26^th place with a 4-over 214 total. Shim contributed a 1-under 69 to Florida’s fast start in the opening round. Shim added a 4-over 74 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 71 that was a counter for the Gators.

   Rounding out the Florida lineup was Parker Sands, a freshman from Edmond, Okla. who finished in the group tied for 38^th place with a 7-over 217 total. Sands contributed a solid 3-under 67 to the Gators’ strong start in the opening round. Sands matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round, but struggled in the final round, finishing up with an 80.

   Also in that group tied at 7-over was another Florida standout competing as an individual in Parker Bell, a junior from Tallahassee, Fla. and No. 63 in the WAGR. Bell’s considerable talent was on display when he registered a 3-under 67 in Saturday afternoon’s second round after he had  opened with a 1-over 71. Bell struggled in the final round with a 79, but he’ll be battling for a spot in the Florida lineup as the spring wears on.

   Yet another Gator, Zack Swanwick, a freshman from New Zealand, was competing as an individual in the Gators Invitational and ended up in that group tied at 7-over. After opening with a 1-over 71, Swanwick signed for back-to-back 3-over 73s in the final two rounds.

   While putting this post together, noticed the presence on the Florida roster of one Noah Kent, a sophomore from Naples, Fla. who is joining the Gators after playing for Iowa in the fall.

   If the name sounds vaguely familiar, Kent is the same kid who made a spectacular run to the U.S. Amateur final at Hazeltine National Golf Club last summer before falling to Jose Luis Ballester, taking the Spaniard to the limit before dropping a 2-up decision. Think Kent’s any good at match play?

   That run to the U.S. Amateur final means Kent will need a week off from college golf in April while he tees it up in that little gathering at the Augusta National Golf Club, the Masters Toonament (as the locals pronounce it), the first major professional championship for the men in 2025.

   Backing up Stout for Oklahoma State was Eric Lee, a sophomore from Fullerton, Calif. and No. 90 in the WAGR as he finished a shot behind Furman’s Morlan in fifth place in the individual standings with a 4-under 206 total.

   Lee, a semifinalist in the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon who transferred to Oklahoma State after spending a year at California, matched par in the opening round at the Mark Bostick Golf Course with a 70 before adding back-to-back 2-under 68s in the final two rounds.

   Joining the trio of Gators tied for sixth place, a shot behind Lee at 3-under, was Florida Gulf Coast’s Sebastian Gamboa, a sophomore from Mexico who recorded a pair of 2-under 68s in Saturday’s double round before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Ethan Fang, a sophomore from Plano, Texas and No. 22 in the WAGR, gave Oklahoma State a third finisher inside the top 10 as he ended up alone in 10^th place with a 2-under 208 total.

   Fang, coming off a tie for third place in the individual standings in the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 73 with a sizzling 5-under 65 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before matching par with a 70 in the final round.

   Fang and Florida’s Bell and Kent, to whom Fang lost in the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine, were among the 16 players invited to tee it up at three courses in the Jupiter, Fla. area in December in a practice session for candidates for the U.S. Walker Cup team.

   The Walker Cup Match, which will pit the U.S. against a team from Great Britain & Ireland, will be staged – and what a stage it is – at the iconic Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula in the summer.

   It was a nice start to the spring of his senior season for Penn State’s Morgan Lofland, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during his standout scholastic career at Conestoga. Lofland finished among the group tied for 26^th place at 4-over 214 as he added a 1-under 69 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 4-over 74.

   Backing up Lofland for the Nittany Lions was Alex Creamean, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., who finished in a tie for 36^th place with a 6-over 216 total. Creamean matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 70 after opening with a 1-over 71 before closing with a 5-over 75.

   Jake Griffin, a senior from Kensington, Md., and Will Preston, a freshman from Grand Rapids, Mich., both landed among the group tied for 48^th place at 9-over 219 for Penn State.

   Griffin got a little better in each round over the weekend as he added a 3-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a solid 1-over 71. Preston put together a pair  of solid 1-over  71s in Saturday’s double round, but struggled in the final round with a 77.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Andres Barraza, a junior from Parkland, Fla. who finished alone in 74^th place with a 229 total. Barraza struggled in Saturday’s double round, adding a 6-over 76 in the afternoon to his opening-round 78. Barraz bounced back nicely with a 3-over 73 in the final round.

   One of the familiar names in the Liberty lineup was that of freshman Michael Lugiano, who capped off an outstanding scholastic career at Lake Lehman by finishing in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State as a senior in 2023.

   Lugiano, who earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., finished among the trio tied for 55^th place in the Gators Invitational with a 220 total. Lugiano matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 70 after opening with a 73, but struggled in the final round with a 77.

   Junior Josh Ryan, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship three straight times from 2020 to 2022, also struggled in the tough conditions of Sunday’s final round, ending up with an 82 that left him in a tie for 62^nd place with a 222 total.

   He was a little more Josh Ryan-like in Saturday’s double round, matching par in both rounds with a pair of 70s. A year ago, Ryan was the only non-Florida player in the top 10 in the Gators Invitational individual standings as he finished alone in fifth place.

   Also in the Liberty lineup was junior Evan Barbin, the youngest of the golfing Barbin brothers from Elkton, Md. Barbin matched par in the opening round with a 70, but struggled the rest of the way, adding a 6-over 76 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before recording an 83 in the final round.

   The Barbins have accounted for two of the last five winners of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship, Zach capturing the title in 2020 at Lancaster Country Club and Austin claiming the crown last summer at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. Zach Barbin and Austin Barbin also played their college golf at Liberty.