Legacy continued: Luke Poulter secures first collegiate win at Schenkel Invitational
Luke Poulter (Florida Athletics Photo)
The Utah men’s golf team claimed its fourth win of the 2024-25 season with a one-shot victory at the 45th Schenkel Invitational, held at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga.
After opening with an even-par 288, the Utes posted back-to-back 277s — the low team rounds of the tournament — to finish at 22 under, one ahead of defending champion Florida. The Gators recorded rounds of 281-284-278 to finish at 21 under. Host Georgia Southern was the only other team in striking distance, finishing third at 16 under (278-286-284).
Utah led the field in par-3 scoring (along with Middle Tennessee State), ranked third in par-4 scoring and second in par-5 scoring. The Utes also tied Georgia Southern for the most birdies in the field with 55.
The Utes got balanced production throughout their order, with four top-15 finishers: Braxton Watts (T5), Brandon Robison (T7), Sergio Jimenez (T9), and Davis Johnson (T13).
“It’s not easy to travel across the country and play on Bermuda grass, which is way different than what we typically play on,” head coach Garrett Clegg told Utah Athletics. “It’s hard to compete, let alone win. I’m just so proud of the way they played and the way they competed… The boys were awesome, and it was fun to be a part of.”
Individually, Florida players dominated the top of the leaderboard. Sophomore Luke Poulter, son of professional golfer Ian Poulter, captured his first collegiate victory with rounds of 67-69-72 to finish at 8 under, one shot ahead of teammate Ian Gilligan.
Gilligan is ranked No. 4 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings and closed with a 4-under 68 to finish solo second at 7 under with rounds of 69-72-68.
Notre Dame’s Jacob Modleski and Georgia Southern’s Parker Claxton finished T3 at 6-under, while Braxton Watts and Georgia Southern’s Hogan Ingram shared fifth at 5 under.
The Utes will look to keep the momentum going at The Goodwin, held March 27-29 at Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.
ABOUT THE
Schenkel Invitational
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by
Georgia Southern University. Team (best four scores of
five players each round) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information