The University of Florida rode a pair of strong early rounds and then held on late to take home the 44th playing of the Schenkel Invitational, held at Forest Heights Country Club over the weekend. It marked the fifth time the Gators, who are the defending national champions, won the prestigious event, but the first since 2017.

South Carolina's Nathan Franks went 69-66-68=203 to take medalist honors, overcoming a one-shot deficit entering the day. He won individual honors by three strokes over Florida's Parker Bell, West Virginia's Max Green and Wisconsin's Daniel Aas. Franks is the third Gamecock to win the Schenkel and the first since George Bryan IV in 2008.
Georgia Southern, the two-time defending Schenkel champions and the host school, bettered five schools ranked ahead of them in the latest Clippd'd rankings (#25 Mississippi State, #54 Florida Gulf Coast, #58 South Carolina, #66 NC State and #67 Kentucky) to finish fourth and claim its 23rd top-five finish in tournament history.

"There's a lot to be excited about from this week,” GS coach Carter Collins said. “First of all, thank you to Statesboro and Forest Heights for an incredible job. We couldn't be more proud to be a small part of this championship event.

"Also, I'm extremely proud of our team for handling everything as well as they did and fighting to the finish each round.
"There are a lot of special things ahead for this team and program. The future is bright and we are excited! Hail Southern!!"
The Eagles, who played with four new lineup members from a year ago, were led for the tournament by Hayden Carner (208; T5th), Parker Claxton (209; T7th) and Hogan Ingram and Brantley Baker (213; T23rd).
Notre Dame (-23) recorded its third top-five finish in program history, tying its best finish of second that it set in 2022. Middle Tennessee finished third, two shots behind the Fighting Irish.