The Florida Gators men's golf team represents the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in the sport of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. The Gators compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). They play their home matches on the Mark Bostick Golf Course on the university's

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

campus, and are currently led by head coach J. C. Deacon. In the eighty-nine-year history of the Gators' men's golf program, they have won fifteen SEC championships and five NCAA national tournament championships. They are the current defending national champions.

History

The Gators men's golf program was the fifth intercollegiate sports team established by the University of Florida, having begun competition in 1925. The Gators won their first two Southeastern Conference team championships twenty years later under coach Andrew Bracken in 1955 and coach Conrad Rehling in 1956. Those two SEC championship teams produced future PGA Tour members

Doug Sanders George Douglas Sanders (July 24, 1933 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships. Early years He was born into a poor family in Cedartown, G ...

Tommy Aaron Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former professional golfer. He was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an er ...

and

Dave Ragan David William Ragan, Jr. (August 7, 1935 – March 13, 2018) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Ragan was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville ...

. Rehling's Gators also produced three back-to-back individual SEC titles: Ragan (1956) and Aaron (1957, 1958).

Bishop era: 1964–78

Physical education professor and former high school football coach

Buster Bishop Bernays Emery "Buster" Bishop (1920 – November 19, 2004) was an American college golf coach. Bishop was best known for leading the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

became the new head coach of the Gators golf team in 1964. Improvement came quickly for Bishop's Gators, and they finished as the SEC runners-up in 1965. Gator

Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to: Sports Baseball *Bob Murphy (pitcher) (1866–1904), American baseball pitcher * Bob Murphy (sportscaster) (1924–2004), American sports announcer * Rob Murphy (born 1960), American retired baseball ...

won the individual NCAA national title in 1966. And in 1967, the team finished second in the conference behind the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

, and second in the nation behind the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education inst ...

at the NCAA championship tournament. The 1968 Gators made history; they not only won the program's third SEC team championship, they won the NCAA championship tournament by edging the defending national champion

by two shots. The Gators' 1968 NCAA men's golf championship, won by John Darr,

Steve Melnyk Steven Nicholas Melnyk (born February 26, 1947) is an American former professional golfer and golf sportscaster best known for his success as an amateur golfer. Melnyk won both the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur. Early life Melnyk was bo ...

, John Sale, Richard Spears, Robert Baggs and Wendell Coffee, was the first national team championship in any sport ever won by a team from the University of Florida. Bishop's Gators won another NCAA national team championship 1973, with an all-star team of four future PGA Tour members:

Gary Koch Gary D. Koch (born November 21, 1952) is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour. Early years Koch was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana ...

, Andy Bean, Ben Duncan,

Woody Blackburn Woody T. Blackburn (born July 26, 1951) is an American former professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life and amateur career Blackburn was born in Pikeville, Kentucky. He attended the University of Florida ...

and

Phil Hancock Phillip Ranson Hancock (October 30, 1953 – December 12, 2024) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. Early life Hancock learned to play golf growing up in Greenville, Alabama, from his father a local dentist. Hancoc ...

. The 1973 Gators outpaced the second-place

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

by ten strokes in the NCAA championship tournament. The following year, the Gators finished second by two strokes behind the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

at the 1974 NCAA championship tournament. Bishop's teams also won three back-to-back SEC team championships in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Only once in fifteen seasons did his Gators finish worse than third in the ten-team SEC. Bishop retired from coaching after the 1978 season.

Darr and Blevins: 1979–87

John Darr, a junior letterman from the Gators' 1968 national championship team, followed Bishop as the team's coach in 1979 and 1980. In his two seasons, Darr's Gators finished second and third in the SEC, and fifteenth and tenth nationally at the NCAA championship tournament. Gator golfer Rick Pearson won the individual SEC title in 1980. Lynn Blevins served as the Gators' coach from 1981 to 1987; his teams won an SEC team championship in 1985, and were the SEC runners-up in 1986. Blevins' Gators finished third in the nation at the 1985 NCAA championship tournament, which they hosted on their home course.

Alexander era: 1988–2014

Buddy Alexander was hired for the 1988 season. Alexander's 1993 team of Guy Hill, Chris Couch,

Brian Gay Joseph Brian Gay (born December 14, 1971) is an American professional golfer. During his career, he won five times on the PGA Tour. After turning 50, he played on the PGA Tour Champions. Early years A military brat, Gay was born in Fort Wort ...

, Bread Lehman and John Pettit won another national championship, besting second-place

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

by a single shot at the NCAA championship tournament. His 2001 team won the program's fourth NCAA national championship, with Gators Nick Gilliam, Camilo Benedetti,

Bubba Dickerson Benjamin Gordon "Bubba" Dickerson (born May 6, 1981) is an American professional golfer who was previously a PGA Tour member and currently plays on the Nationwide Tour. He is best known for winning the 2001 U.S. Amateur. Early life Dickerson ...

Camilo Villegas Camilo Villegas Restrepo (; born 7 January 1982) is a Colombian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life Villegas was born in Medellín, Colombia, and took up golf as a child. After several different National Junior Championshi ...

and Ben Banks dominating the runner-up

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

by eighteen strokes. Team captain Gilliam also won the second individual NCAA men's golf championship in Gators history in 2001, and teammate Benedetti finished second in the NCAA championship tournament, three strokes behind Gilliam. Alexander's Gators won eight SEC team championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2011), and finished second in the conference seven times. Nationally, his teams won two NCAA national championships (1993, 2001), and finished second twice (1990, 2006). The Gators failed to qualify for the NCAA championship tournament only twice in his twenty-six seasons.

Deacon era: 2014-Present

Individual honors

In the past fifty-eight years, fifteen Gators golfers have won twenty-one SEC individual titles. Thirty-nine Gators golfers have earned sixty-seven first-team All-SEC honors. Forty-nine Gators have received ninety-three

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors.''Florida Gators Men's Golf 2008 Media Guide''
Team History
. Retrieved August 7, 2009. Three Gators have won the individual NCAA national title: Bob Murphy (1966), Nick Gilliam (2001), and Fred Biondi (2023). Four Gators have won

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

: Bob Murphy (1965), Steve Melnyk (1969),

Fred Ridley Fred Scobie Ridley (born August 16, 1952) is an American amateur golfer and golf administrator who won the U.S. Amateur in 1975, was elected president of the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2004, and then became chairman of Augusta Nati ...

(1975), and Bubba Dickerson (2001). The Gators' former head coach, Buddy Alexander, won the U.S. Amateur in 1986. Melnyk won the

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

in 1971.

PGA Tour professionals

Over thirty former University of Florida alumni have represented the university on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, including former Gators golfers

, winner of the 1973

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

and two other Tour events,

Mark Calcavecchia Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he won 13 PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. He plays on the Champions Tour as well ...

, winner of the 1989

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and thirteen other Tour events,

Andy North Andrew Stewart North (born March 9, 1950) is an American professional golfer who had three wins on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open twice. Since 1992, he has served as a golf analyst for ESPN. Early life North was born in Thorp, Wisconsi ...

, winner of the 1978 and 1985 U.S. Opens and one other Tour event, and

, winner of twenty Tour events.

Coaching staff

J. C. Deacon is the head coach of the Florida Gators men's golf team; 2014–15 will be his first season with the Gators.GatorZone.com, Golf, Coaching & Support Staff
J. C. Deaon
Retrieved July 9, 2014. Deacon previously served as an assistant golf coach for the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

(UNLV), where he worked with the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...

men's golf team for four years.

Mark Bostick Golf Course

The Gators men's golf team host its home matches at the Mark Bostick Golf Course, located on of the university's campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university course was originally designed by noted Scottish golfer and golf course architect Donald Ross in 1921. It was partially redesigned and rebuilt by noted golf architect

Bobby Weed Robert Carl Weed Jr. (born April 13, 1955), known as Bobby Weed, president of Bobby Weed Golf Design ("BWGD"), is an American golf course architect, designer and builder. His firm specializes in design, renovations and repurposing. A protégé o ...

as part of a $4 million renovation project in 2001. The renovated course is a 6,701-yard par 70, and the facilities include the Guy Bostick club house and dedicated practice areas for the Gators golf teams. The Mark Bostick Golf Course hosts the annual Gator Invitational, as well as the annual Gator Golf Day alumni event.University of Florida Golf Course
40th Annual Gator Golf Day
. Retrieved August 8, 2009.

References

External links

* {{Florida Gators athletic program navbox Sports clubs and teams established in 1925 1925 establishments in Florida