HANAHAN, S.C. — The Florida women’s golf team saved their best effort for last, collectively shooting a 289—the third-lowest score of the final round—and finished in fifth at the conclusion of the Cougar Classic. The Gators completed the tournament with a team score of 875 (292-294-289, +11).
“Today was more of what I expect from our team,” Florida Head Coach Jan Dowling said. “We got in the mix for second place at one point. We made a little bit of a run today which is good to see. It was not our best tournament but we are coming away from this knowing what we need to work on. Overall as a team, we look at our short game and our putting. We need to work on that in the next couple of weeks and it will get better for sure.”
Evan Jensen paced the Gators with a two-under 70, giving her a 54-hole score of 216 (73-73-70, E). Only four players were able to shoot lower scores than Jensen on the day and her effort vaulted her to a tie for eighth overall. After a shaky start where she went par-bogey-birdie-bogey through four holes, she settled down, making six straight pars, including a difficult one on the par-3 13th where she found the bunker off her tee shot but was still able to salvage a par. She birdied 15, 17 and 18 and was able to make par the following four holes to complete her round.
“I got off to a little bit of an up-and-down start,” Jensen said. “I started really focusing in on some putts on the back nine and made a couple. I made one for par on 13 that really jumpstarted my putting. I got up and down from a bunker on 13 and broke through and made a putt to make par. Just seeing a putt go in helped me out. I didn’t miss a fairway today. It was just a matter of making some putts.”
Mia Piccio completed the Cougar Classic by shooting a 72 for a cumulative score of 214 (70-72-72, -2) that led Florida and tied her for sixth in the individual standings. Piccio had an eventful day in contrast to her previous two rounds. She began play at the fourth hole and bogeyed 6, 7 and 9 to fall to three-over. However, the sophomore recovered, sandwiching a birdie on 10 and then two more on 15 and 16—holes that she played at five-under over the three days—around a bogey on 12 to claw back to one-over where she eventually finished for the round.
Andrea Watts was steady throughout the afternoon for the Orange and Blue, posting an even-par 72 as she finished with a 54-hole score of 221 (+5) that tied her for 21st overall . She birdied her opening two holes and then carded six consecutive pars before her first blip—a double bogey at the par-3 13th. From there, she played the remaining nine holes with one birdie, seven pars and one bogey.
Jessica Yadloczky matched her second round score by shooting a two-over 74. Her total score of 149 (75-74, +5) ties her for 32nd with teammate Andrea Watts and seven other players. Yadloczky began slowly and found herself at two-over through six but rebounded with birdies on 8 and 10 to get back even. She bogeyed 12 and 14 before making pars the rest of the way. Although not satisfied, Florida’s lone senior is convinced that improvement is on the horizon.
“I statistically hit the ball very well. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. I think that if a couple of more putts would have dropped for me, I would have been in the red numbers all three days. I felt really good about my game.”
In addition to the positive feelings about her own round, Yadloczky also believes better things are in store for the Gators in the near-future when the putting comes around.
“If all of us make a couple more putts per round, I think we would be tops in the nation,” Yadloczky declared. “I think we have a good enough team to get better each tournament in the fall and play well in the postseason.”
Isabelle Lendl finished the event in a tie for 77th place after shooting a six-over 78, giving her a cumulative score of 233 (76-79-78,+17) . She had two double bogeys and three bogeys in her first 10 holes before playing the final eight holes at one-under.
North Carolina won the team title with a score of 860 (285-285-290, -4). Natalie Gleadall from the University of Mississippi won the individual crown with a five-under 211 (75-69-67).
The Gators’ next tournament will be the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship which will begin on Sept. 24th at the Legends Club in Nashville, Tenn.