After five tournament wins in the 2025-26 regular season, No. 4 Florida men’s golf is poised to make a deep run in the postseason. Even though the Gators finished 10th in the Sahalee Players Championship to start the season, they placed in the top five in all nine tournaments thereafter.
Florida highlights
UF had to open up the spring facing record-low temperatures at the Sea Best Invitational, which cut the tournament to two rounds. It was trailing UNCW by three strokes heading into Round 2. Its continued resilience showed itself again as it went 9-under-par in the final round. Matthew Kress scored four birdies in the final five holes of Round 2 and only had one bogey, despite the frigid air.
Florida’s best showing of the season was its home tournament, the Gators Invitational. There, it posted an 813 (-27). Even after going 9-under-par in Round 1, it was trailing Auburn. Then, Jack Turner emerged with a career-low score of 64 (-6), along with all the Gators being under par. A 14-under-par Round 2 put them in the driver’s seat and avoided a late scare by potting in three eagles in the final round. Kress was also the top performer, accumulating a 204 (-6).
The Gators placed fifth in the Southern Highlands Collegiate and tied for third in the Pauma Valley Invitational. They finished strong at the Calusa Cup a few hours down South in Naples, winning the third year in a row. Despite being in a three-way tie after Round 1, UF tied its -14 low score of the season in Round 2.
Turner was a combined 10-under-par after the first two rounds, and he was almost the first Gator to win the individual crown this season. However, he went 3-over-par in the final round, but still finished fourth and as the top-performing Gator of the tournament.
Overall, Turner was the team’s top golfer during the regular season, leading the Gators with a stroke average of 71.30 and 15 even or under par rounds. The junior also had a team-best 93 birdies. Kress was close behind with a 71.57 stroke average and 14 even or under par rounds. The senior accumulated 81 birdies, which was also second. Both golfers led the way with 81.4% of rounds counted.
Opposing teams and players to watch
The Gators will have their work cut out for them in the SEC Championship, as nine other teams are ranked in the top 25 and four others in the top 10. They are behind No. 1 Auburn and No. 3 Texas.
After starting the season a bit rough, Auburn rattled off seven straight tournaments under par, winning three. The Tigers have a combined -139 in March and April. Right below them is No. 5 Arkansas, which went 819 (-33) in its second-to-last tournament of the season. The Razorbacks finished under par in eight of nine contests.
Furthermore, three of the top 10 golfers are in the conference.
Auburn’s Jackson Koivun is ranked No. 1 in the country, sporting an average of 121.46 points. He won five tournaments, including the two heading into the postseason. The junior is on a seven-tournament streak of scoring under par. He also won the Gators Invitational with a 201 (-9).
No. 5 Christiaan Maas ended with an 87.58 for the Longhorns. Up until March, he was not ranked higher than 31st. However, the South Africa native won two tournaments, combining for a -23. After he won the Ford Collegiate to end the season, the senior’s ranking shot up from 12th to fifth.
Ole Miss’ Tom Fischer placed ninth, accumulating an 84.87. Similar to Maas, he didn’t emerge until very late in the season. In April, the senior finished in second in the Mason Rudolph Championship, bolstering his ranking from 44th to 15th. Then, he won the Mossy Oak Intercollegiate, which placed him in the top 10.
Coming soon
Ultimately, the Gators aim to defend their SEC Championship title.
They will travel a few hours north to St. Simons Island, Georgia, for the five-day SEC Championship from Wednesday to Sunday. It will be held at Sea Island Golf Club: Seaside Course, with a start time still to be determined.
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.
