Gal Finishes With a Flurry in Daytona Beach, Turns Pro
Monday, December 3, 2007 | Women's Golf
The top 17 individuals in the 134-player field received an LPGA exemption card for the 2008 schedule while the next 36 received conditional cards for next year. Gal will forego the remainder of her senior year to become a member of the esteemed LPGA Tour.
“I want to thank the University of Florida, my parents and the coaching staff for supporting me through this decision,” Gal said. “I'm really excited but also sad at the same time because I won't be able to finish with the team. I've worked hard for this moment and I wasn't sure what I was going to do heading into the tournament, but it's too difficult to pass up an opportunity like this.”
Tenth-year head coach Jill Briles-Hinton guided Florida to a fall season that included a team title at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Classic and a runner-up performance at the Wildcat Fall Invitational. She also recruited Gal to Florida and has overseen her development and progression since she arrived on campus three years ago.
“Sandra is the type of player that can help you to win championships. The coaches are here to teach kids that have a burning desire to be the best they can be and Sandra is that type of player,” Briles-Hinton said. “She gave me everything she had and always did everything she needed to do to be prepared on the golf course. Sandra did above and beyond what we asked her to do and she was able to qualify. If you look at the players out there competing, there are few players in her category. This is an unprecedented feat the University of Florida and she deserves everything she gets on the next level.”
Gal exhibited her resiliency after starting out sluggish with a first- round tally of 76. She posted back-to-back rounds of 69 and noticeably elevated her game to a different level as fatigue started to wear in on the rest of the field in the five-day event. After starting out on the first day tied for 96th, Gal pushed herself hard and the results were evident.
She capped off her five-round tournament with a 4-under par 356 (76-70-72- 69-69), making her final push up the leaderboard.
“I was really nervous on the first day, but I became more trusting in my game each day and was much more aggressive,” Gal said.
Gal's road to the professional ranks has been one of consistency and steady success. She was the top amateur at the sectional qualifying event in Venice, Fla., earlier in November, finishing tied for fifth. A member of the German national team since 2003, Gal held the top spot in the European Amateur Rankings based on results from the college season.
She was billed as the No. 9 player to watch in Golf World's preseason Top 50 Female Golfers to Watch this year and adds international flair to her outstanding academic record. For her achievements in the classroom, Gal garnered NGCA Academic All-American accolades three straight years while being named the 2007 Co-SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earning three straight selections to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
The German native was a catalyst for one of the best fall seasons in school history, claiming top honors at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Classic in October as the Lady Gators took home first-place hardware. She led the team in scoring average at a 72.0 clip through nine rounds, on pace to shatter her own school record she set last season as a junior with a 72.7 mark. She found red numbers in six of her nine rounds played in the fall season.
In Knoxville, she tied the school's lowest tournament total for the third time in school history, wrapping up with a 210 to equal Cheryl Morley and Page Dunlap.
In three tournaments, Gal finished tied for the 15th at the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship, first at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Classic and tied for seventh at the Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate.
Gal will take a short break and resume playing golf later this month while seeking out sponsors and preparing for the next phase in her career. She will be gearing up for her professional debut at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay Feb. 14-16 in Kahuku, Hawaii.
She ended her Florida career owning school records in single-season scoring average (72.7), single-season tournament scoring average (217.6), and registered UF's lowest tournament total twice with a 210.
