No. 5 Florida men’s golf is coming into spring play hot. It finished first in its two most recent tournaments, tied for third in the Marquette Intercollegiate, second in the Fighting Illini Intercollegiate and 10th in the season-opening Sahalee Players Championship.
The Gators now will aim to win their first National Championship since 2023 and to repeat as SEC Champions.
The UF starting lineup will remain the same: Jack Turner, Zach Swanwick, Luke Poulter, Matthew Kress and Parker Bell. Freshmen Josh Bai, Trevor Gutschewski and Parker Severs, along with sophomore Parker Sands, have added much-needed depth to the roster. Junior transfer Noah Kent has been solid in individual play.
No. 26 nationally ranked junior Luke Poulter leads the Gators with three top-10 finishes, despite having an underwhelming Marquette Intercollegiate. After opening at 82 (+10) and finishing 228 (+12) to tie for 55th, he bounced back with a key 211 (-5) showing at the Williams Cup. In the 2025 SEC Championship, he racked up a 4 and 3 win against Texas A&M’s Jamie Montojo.
Junior Jack Turner led the way with a 72.2 stroke average, including a second-place finish in the Marquette Invitational. He was also the Gators’ most consistent scorer with 12 rounds counted and 43 birdies. He was crucial in the 2025 SEC Championship, tying for 16th place and going 206 (-4).
Senior Matthew Kress followed closely with a 73.0 stroke average, including a fourth-place finish at the Fighting Illini Collegiate. He added stability to the lineup with 10 of 13 rounds counting toward the team total. In the 2025 SEC Championship, he had a 5 and 4 win against Texas A&M’s Aaron Pounds. Later, he tied for ninth place in the National Championship and was 285 (-3).
Senior Parker Bell was a key part of UF’s most recent tournament victory, the East Lake Cup. He tied for second at 2 under par, then went unbeaten in match play with a 5 and 3 semifinal victory over Ole Miss. He eventually won 1-up against Virginia’s Ben James in the final.
New Zealand native Zack Swanwick has seen significant improvement in the past two tournaments. The sophomore was 232 (+16) in the Sahalee Players Championship and went 215 (+5) in the Fighting Illini Collegiate. After a porous first two starts, he didn’t play in the Marquette Collegiate and returned for the Williams Cup. He tied Poulter for third place and was vital to Florida winning with a combined 137 (-7) in the first two rounds. He posted a 2 and 1 win against Virginia’s Paul Chang in the final round of the East Lake Cup.
Florida travels to Atlantic Beach, Florida, for the Sea Best Invitational on Feb. 2. The tournament will be held at the Atlantic Beach Country Club with a measurement of 6,720 yards and a par of 71.
Contact Colby Kistner at ckistner@alligator.org. Follow him on X @colbykistner22.
Colby is a junior sports journalism student in his first semester with the Alligator covering golf. He has experience covering Buchholz and Santa Fe High School sports. He also worked in UF's innovation center where he wrote and created radio content for WRUF. He is an avid hockey fan with his teams being the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers. He is looking to minor in business administration.
