Gator Country

Florida's Evan Jensen shot an even par 72 in the second round at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C., putting her in a tie for 14th place. / Gator Country file photo by Tim Casey

Hanahan, S.C.- The No. 16 Florida Gators women's golf team held on to second place after the second round of the Cougar Classic on Monday after a second round 284 (-4).

The Gators trail North Carolina by one stroke and have four individuals in the top-20, including freshman Camilla Hedberg in third. The Gators, who were 10-over after last year’s second round at the Cougar Classic, tallied a team score of 568 (284-284,-8).

“The improvement that our team has shown is maturity and it is especially noticeable throughout the past two days,” head coach Jan Dowling said. “It’s all about how you can control your mistakes. We have done a good job of that so far.”

The Gators were led by Hedberg, who is currently tied for third individually after shooting a five-under 67. The Spaniard has a two-day total of 138 (-6). Hedberg birdied four of the first five holes and made seven birdies throughout her second round effort, giving her a tournament total of 12.

“Camilla had another great round today,” Dowling said. “I’m unsure of the exact numbers but she must have had only 10 or 11 putts on the front. She got off to a great start and had an impressive finish saving par on a few holes and making birding on the 18th.”

Mia Piccio carded a respectable even par 72 for the second round to finish in a tie for 14th though 36-holes. The junior played a consistent round totaling 12 pars.

Evan Jensen, who also shot an even par 72 in the second round, moved into a tie for 14th individually, joining Piccio. After an eagle effort in round one and making birdie in round two, Jensen is a combined three-under on hole 15 after two rounds.

Providing the Gators with another solid effort was junior Isabelle Lendl who recorded a second round score of 73 (+1) giving her a 36-hole score of 144 (E).

Senior Andrea Watts struggled throughout the second round shooting a ten-over 82. Watts has a tournament score of 156 (75-82, +13).

“Our team hung tough today,” Dowling explained. “Things weren’t quite going our way, we got sloppy with our scoring clubs and some other errors but we battled. We are all really excited to have a chance going into tomorrow.”

North Carolina escapes with a one shot lead over UF entering the third and final round on Tuesday. This marks the second consecutive year that North Carolina leads the Cougar Classic after the second round.

The entire 22-team field will have a shotgun start at 8:50 a.m. for the final round.

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