Gators Surging Since Addition of Brooks

Gators coach Emily Glaser, left, and sophomore Sierra Brooks during Sunday's final round of the Gator SunTrust Invitational. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)

Gators Surging Since Addition of Brooks

Sunday, March 11, 2018 | Women's Golf, Scott Carter

The UF women's golf team won the Gator SunTrust Invitational in record fashion on Sunday as newcomer Sierra Brooks continues to lead the way.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The start of her day didn't go as Emily Glaser envisioned on Sunday morning when she rolled out of bed in the darkness. Glaser, the UF women's golf coach, woke early to head to Mark Bostick Golf Course for Sunday's final round of the Gator SunTrust Invitational.

After getting ready, Glaser hopped in her car and turned the key. Clickety-click, clickety-clack. The car would not start. She called Gators associate head coach Janice Olivencia to the rescue.

"She had to come and pick me up,'' Glaser said.

Meanwhile, the day did not end the way Gators sophomore Sierra Brooks had in mind. On her approach to the 18th, Brooks hit a shot she really liked. That was before she climbed the fairway to discover the ball had popped off the green and rolled underneath the spectator bleachers.

Brooks took a relief drop, chipped her next shot off the other side of the green, and then finished her round with a nice up-and-down recovery to make bogey.

"It was a flyer," Brooks said of her approach. "I was just hoping everyone was OK. That was the thing in my head."

Everyone was fine, and despite the inauspicious start and end to the Gators' day, so were they.

Florida did something no team had ever done in the tournament's 46-year history: shoot even-par as a team. The Gators finished with a team score of 279-280-281—840. The tournament's previous low team score belonged to the 2017 Gators, who shot 7-over-par 847 to win last year's event.

The 2018 Gators, comprised of six underclassmen and senior Taylor Tomlinson, won by 12 shots over second-place Campbell and Furman. The win marked the third time in history the Gators have strung together three consecutive wins in the event and first time since 2006-08.

It helped that Brooks, playing in only her fourth event since transferring from Wake Forest, took second place by finishing at 2-under par (69-69-70—208). Daytona State College sophomore Jiwon Jeon won the individual title (68-66-69—203) with a splendid 7-under-par.

"We had a good plan going into the tournament,'' Brooks said. "Everyone's games came together. I'm happy with how I played. It's about how I've been playing. I'm definitely liking where my game is."

52139 — Elin Esborn turned in a strong performance, finishing 1-under par for the tournament. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)

Brooks wasn't the only UF player to finish under par. Redshirt sophomore Elin Esborn finished at 1-under, good for third overall. Teammate Marta Perez finished tied for fifth at 1-over. Freshman Addie Baggarly (4-over, tied for 13th) and Tomlinson (6-over, tied for 19th) rounded out a strong performance by the Gators in their only home tournament of the season.

Glaser liked what she saw from her young team.

"I was thrilled. This week is really special and it's really fun, but from a competitive standpoint, sometimes it's a challenge because there are expectations and they want to play really well because they are at home and they should know how to play this golf course and things like that,'' she said. "I thought the way they handled that part of it, to go out and play pretty free and put up the numbers they did, was really nice."

The Gators are building toward the postseason and the addition of Brooks, the 2015 U.S. Amateur runner-up, has added some star power. Brooks was one of the country's top recruits coming out of Lake Mary (Fla.) Prep and has already played in the U.S. Women's Open, a feat she accomplished in 2016.

Brooks played only 14 rounds as a freshman at Wake Forest due to an injury and decided to start fresh by transferring to UF. She has helped the Gators win back-to-back tournaments and place second in another one.

"She is a great personality. A lot of positive energy,'' Esborn said. "That she wins tournaments is a lot of fun, too, for the team."

The transition has been a smooth one since Brooks joined the team in January.

"You never know where the dynamic is going to go even by just adding one person. She has really embraced the team and they have her as well,'' Glaser said. "The messages and the signals she is sending out to the group are correct and right and they have really helped us jell. That's in addition to the work ethic and things she's done from a golf standpoint."

While Brooks was content with the way she played over the weekend, she said she didn't strike the ball to her liking on Saturday in the first two rounds. Still, she managed the course, avoided major trouble and was one of just three players in the field to finish under-par.

Not even her final-hole adventure Sunday flustered Brooks, who checked on the spectators in the bleachers before addressing where her ball was.

"She wasn't shaken by that,'' Glaser said. "She had some amazing up and downs this week that I think really kept her in the tournament. That's a great example. Where that might shake your average player, the résumé that she has and the level of golf she plays at, she handles it like a pro."

Brooks was not alone. The Gators took care of business Sunday, turning away the field and turning in a record performance.