Sea Best Invitational: Ian Gilligan leads by two shots after Day One

January 29, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Ian Gilligan (Florida Athletics Photo)

Gilligan has paced Florida out to an impressive seven shot lead

Ian Gilligan of Florida led the Gators to the first-round lead in the team competition after a 3-under at TPC Sawgrass, the Dye's Valley Course, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The golfers played rounds one and two on Monday, with Gilligan shooting a first-round even par 70 and a second-round 3-under 67. In the opening round, he recorded four birdies, but a bogey and triple bogey evened his score out. In the second round, he recorded five birdies to two bogeys.

Nick Gabrelcik of North Florida, Tyler Wilkies of Florida, and Niilo Maki-Petaja of Louisiana Tech are all two shots behind Gilligan and are T2 at 1-under. Max Kennedy of Louisville, Hunter Bott of UTSA, and Robbie Higgins of North Florida are T5 at even par.

To end 2023, Gilligan used rounds of 65-65-68 to shoot 12-under and win the Patriot All-America Invitational at The Wigwam, Gold Course, in Litchfield Park, Ariz., by three shots. A hole-out eagle on No. 13 punctuated his final round 2-under 68 to win the title.

In the team competition, Florida leads by an impressive seven shots at 2-over, while North Florida is in solo second place at 9-over. Louisville is in solo third place at 14-over, Texas-San Antonio is in solo fourth place at 17-over, and Florida Gulf Coast is in solo fifth place at 18-over.

Florida is the two-time defending team champions from 2022 and 2023, and Gabrelcik won the individual title in 2022.

Results: Sea Best Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Robbie Higgins	Bradenton, FL	600	69-71-65=205
2	Ian Gilligan	Reno, NV	400	70-67-69=206
3	Nick Gabrelcik	Trinity, FL	300	74-65-69=208
T4	Tyler Wilkes	Tampa, FL	300	71-68-70=209
T4	Niilo Maki-Petaja	, Finland	300	70-69-70=209

View full results for Sea Best Invitational

About the Sea Best Invitational

Sea Best Invitational: Ian Gilligan leads by two shots after Day One

54-hole men's college tournament hosted by the University of Jacksonville at Atlantic Beach CC. Team (best four out of five players each round) and individual competitions.