CARLSBAD, Calif. \u2013 A late rally came up short in the National Championship Quarterfinals as the No. 2 Florida men’s golf team fell 3-2 to No. 5 Oklahoma State on Tuesday at Omni La Costa. After dropping the leadoff match, the Gators flipped the second and third for points, but the Cowboys held on for the victory in the final two matchups.<\/p>\n
Early in the match, the two historic programs were deadlocked before No. 5 seed Oklahoma State gained momentum approaching the turn. When the first two groups made the turn, No. 4 seed Florida led one match by a hole and trailed in the other three.<\/p>\n
At one point, the Gators did not lead any match, with the Cowboys ahead in four of the five contests.<\/p>\n
Both 2-Down through eight, Matthew Kress<\/a> and Parker Sands<\/a> each took the ninth hole. Kress won the tenth hole with a birdie to tie his matchup against Preston Stout, the 2026 National Individual Champion. After Kress’ second straight win, Zack Swanwick’s<\/a> eagle on 11 and birdie on 13 squared his match while Sands also brought his match even winning the 12th. The Gator rally tied the three middle matches while trailing in the opening and anchor match.<\/p>\n The first point in the inaugural meeting between Florida and Oklahoma State\u00a0was in Eric Lee’s 6&4 win over Luke Poulter<\/a>. Tied through seven holes, Lee went 6-under across the next seven holes to clinch the early advantage.<\/p>\n After their first point, the Cowboys positioned themselves to wrap up the match quickly as Ethan Fang went 2-Up on Swanwick with three to play, Stout 2Up with three to go and Gaven Lane 2-Up with five holes left. However, UF began to make a push as Sands took the 13th and 14th to move 2-Up, and clinching the 3&2 win with a par on the par3 16th.<\/p>\n The sophomore, Sands, shined in his postseason debut. He shot two under-par rounds (71, 71) this week after finishing runner-up at the NCAA Regional and placing T17 (-5) with two match-play victories at the SEC Championship.<\/p>\n Swanwick rallied 2-Down with two to play and took the next three straight holes to win 1-Up and give the Gators a 2-1 lead with two matches on the board.<\/p>\n After tying his career-low round with a 6-under 66 in Monday’s final round of stroke play. his birdie on the par3 16th earned his sixth match play win in the postseason and move to 2-0 all-time at NCAA match play.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Swanwick made his way to the 18th green, Kress rolled in a birdie on the 16th to stay alive and cut the deficit to 1-down. The two halved 17, and after both players hit their approach shots into the 18th green, Oklahoma State evened the match score at 2-2 with\u00a0a 2&1 win by Lane vs. Turner.<\/p>\n Kress and Stout each made bogey on the final hole, clinching a 1-Up victory and the match for the Cowboys. The loss marked Florida’s first-ever defeat in an NCAA Championship quarterfinal,\u00a0moving UF to 14-5 in postseason match play since 2022.<\/p>\n Playing in his final tournament, fourth National Championship and 163rd collegiate round, Kress wrapped up his five-year career. An All-American on the course and in the classroom, he finished No. 16 in the PGA TOUR University program and earning PGA TOUR Americas membership for the 2026 season. He is set to make his professional debut at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open presented by Syndeo (June 25-28). Kress also will be exempt into Second Stage of the current season’s PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.<\/p>\n Florida surged into match play behind a final-round team score of 12-under 284\u00a0for the program’s second-lowest by par at the National Championship and one back of the program record (-13) in 2001 when the Gators swept both the team and individual titles. After sitting 5-over through the first two rounds, UF went 16-under for the next 36-holes to finish 11-under for their third-lowest 72-hole score at the National Championship, only trailing 26-under in 2001 and 16-under in 1994, both national championship winning seasons.<\/p>\n National Championship Quarterfinals – No. 4 Florida (2) vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State (3) Post Round Quotes – Head Coach J.C. Deacon<\/a>\u00a0
\nEric Lee 6&4 vs. Luke Poulter<\/a>
\nZack Swanwick<\/a> 1Up (19-holes) vs. Ethan Fang
\nParker Sands<\/a> 3&2 vs. Fillip Fahlberg-Johnsson
\nPreston Stout 1Up vs. Matthew Kress<\/a>\u00a0
\nGaven Lane 2&1 vs. Jack Turner<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nOn the team’s season this year\u2026
\n“When it’s over and you don’t get the result you want, it’s heartbreaking. My heart breaks for our seniors Parker Bell<\/a> and Matthew Kress<\/a>. When we huddle up there was a lot of tears because they care so much. That’s what makes it hurt, but like this team has done all year long, we fought right to the end, coming up a hair short. We just made too many mistakes today. I think the good was good, but just had too many bogeys, and gave too many holes away to beat the defending national champions.
\n\u00a0
\nOn Matthew Kress<\/a> legacy and his journey\u2026
\n“He single handedly changed this program’s culture. He epitomizes everything that I believe in. When he started, he wasn’t good enough to play at Florida, and he had a lot of coaches around the country telling him he wasn’t good enough to play Division I golf, and that motivated him. I think that’s what life’s all about. Going up against adversity and staring it right back in the face, and just getting to work. Matthew has worked his butt off for five years, given his everything and going to leave with two degrees. I could not imagine sending a young man out into the real world who is more prepared than him. He’s always going to have a big piece of my heart, and I’ll never be able to thank him enough what he’s given to our program”
\n\u00a0
\nOn Parker Sands<\/a> successful postseason debut\u2026
\n“We learned a lot about Parker Sands<\/a> this week. He has been in and out of the lineup at times, but really grasped his spot in late March. The postseason presents some bright lights and especially in the National Championship, but he just doesn’t flinch. He believes in himself and has a lot skill. The future is bright from him and for the Gators.”
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