Florida Gators
SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational
Gators Tied for First Entering Final Round at Gator Invite
Saturday, March 17, 2012 | Women's Golf
The No. 20th ranked University of Florida women's golf team shot up the leaderboard after a second-round 283 (+3) tied them for first heading into the final round of the 2012 SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational. The Gators' round of 283 is tied for the third-best second-round team total in tournament history. UF enters the final day tied with Alabama with a tournament total of 577 (+17).
“I'm very proud of our team today. We played a heck of a round of golf and showed some serious adversity throughout the entire day,” said head coach Jan Dowling. “Our goal was to take advantage of our local knowledge, but also not take it for granted. We still had to play smart, and hit solid golf shots, which we did.”
The Gators, who won the event last year, entered the second round trailing first round leader Alabama by 10 strokes, but quickly made up ground when Senior Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) birdied two of her first three holes. Jensen went on to shoot a team-best one-under 69 that gave her a 36-hole total of 146 (+6). Jensen will begin third round play in a tie for 16th.
Andrea Watts (Bradenton, Fla.) shot a season-low 71 (+1), recording two birdies against three bogeys, giving her a two-day total of 149 (+9). Watts is tied for 31st after two rounds.
“Evan and Andrea showed great senior leadership today. They stepped up when we needed solid rounds from them, and I couldn't be more proud. We have work to do tomorrow, and I know they are excited about their opportunity,” Dowling said.
Camilla Hedberg (Sitges, Spain) added a solid round, yet again. Hedberg handed in a second round 71 (+1) to push her tournament total to 139 (-1). Hedberg sits in third-place and will be in contention for her first collegiate victory Sunday at Mark Bostick Golf Course.
“Camilla played another very solid round of golf. She hit the ball very well, and stayed patient on the greens despite her putts not dropping,” Dowling said. “She is in a wonderful position, and I know she is very excited for tomorrow's round.”
After a second round 72 (+2), Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Fla.) has a tournament total 143 (+3) and will enter the final round in a tie for eighth place. Piccio recorded a team-high four birdies during Saturday's round.
Isabelle Lendl (Goshen, Conn.) has a 36-hole total of 161 (81-80, +21) and Megan Pak (Bradenton, Fla.), who is competing as an individual, will enter the third round with a 153 (73-80, +13).
“We plan to attack tomorrow's round with the same patience and discipline as today. There are many solid teams in the mix, and its going to be an exciting day. We are looking forward to the challenge,” Dowling said of the final round.
Christina Miller of South Florida holds the individual lead through two rounds with a 136 (69-67, -3).
A shotgun start is scheduled for Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Piccio and Hedberg will tee off of hole No. 1, Jensen off hole No. 2, Lendl and Watts off hole No. 3 and Pak off of hole No. 18.
For live scoring throughout the tournament visit golfstat.com.
Click here for complete pre-tournament notes.
For complete coverage of UF's women's golf program visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Women's Golf page on Facebook.
| Team Leaderboard | |||||
| PLACE | SCHOOL | TO PAR | ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | SCORE |
| T1 | Florida | +17 | 294 | 283 | 577 |
| T1 | Alabama | +17 | 284 | 293 | 577 |
| 3 | Georgia | +22 | 286 | 296 | 582 |
| 4 | Florida State | +23 | 290 | 293 | 583 |
| 5 | South Florida | +28 | 294 | 294 | 588 |
| 6 | Kentucky | +30 | 291 | 299 | 590 |
| 7 | Auburn | +33 | 293 | 300 | 593 |
| T8 | Duke | +35 | 295 | 300 | 595 |
| T8 | Baylor | +35 | 302 | 293 | 595 |
| 10 | Arkansas | +36 | 297 | 299 | 596 |
| 11 | Mississippi | +38 | 305 | 293 | 598 |
| 12 | UCF | +41 | 303 | 298 | 601 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | +44 | 303 | 301 | 604 |
| 14 | Chattanooga | +53 | 302 | 311 | 613 |
| 15 | Georgia State | +54 | 309 | 305 | 614 |
| 16 | Kent State | +55 | 309 | 306 | 615 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | +59 | 304 | 315 | 619 |
| Individual Top-10 | ||||||
| PLACE | PLAYER | SCHOOL | TO PAR | ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | SCORE |
| 1 | Christina Miller | South Florida | -4 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| 2 | Emilie Burger | Georgia | -2 | 67 | 71 | 138 |
| 3 | Camilla Hedberg | Florida | -1 | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| 4 | Maria Salinas | Florida State | E | 68 | 72 | 140 |
| T5 | Stephanie Meadow | Alabama | +2 | 71 | 71 | 142 |
| T5 | Brooke Pancake | Alabama | +2 | 70 | 72 | 142 |
| T5 | Emily Tubert | Arkansas | +2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T8 | Laure Castelain | Florida State | +3 | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| T8 | Mia Piccio | Florida | +3 | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| 10 | Hayley Davis | Baylor | +4 | 77 | 67 | 144 |
| Florida Results | |||||
| PLACE | PLAYER | TO PAR | ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | SCORE |
| 3 | Camilla Hedberg | -1 | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| T8 | Mia Piccio | +3 | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| T16 | Evan Jensen | +6 | 77 | 69 | 146 |
| T31 | Andrea Watts | +9 | 78 | 71 | 149 |
| T85 | Isabelle Lendl | +21 | 81 | 80 | 161 |
| T50 | Megan Pak | +13 | 73 | 80 | 153 |
