FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Florida women’s golf team finds itself in a tie for eighth place after the first round of the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship. The Gators recorded a team score of two-under-par 286 at the par-72, 6,281-yard Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course.
“I was pretty happy with our play today,” Florida coach Jan Dowling said. “We were very consistent as a team overall. We had a couple of blunders but we bounced back with birdies. I am happy with the way we performed.”
Junior Andrea Watts paced the Gators with a four-under-par 68 that left her tied for fifth overall. Watts had six birdies and two bogeys on her round, shooting four-under with four birdies on the front nine (her second nine holes).
“I was hitting it well and my putts were going in,” Watts explained. “I hit 16 greens (in regulation) so I did not really have too many holes where I was forced to scramble. I was hitting it right in the middle of the fairway consistently. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to control my driver that well. I was making good decisions and choosing the right clubs and I ended up close enough to the holes to make the putts.”
Dowling was impressed. “This was her first under par round as a collegiate golfer and she has been working hard. She hit great iron shots all day and she is playing well,” the coach said.
Junior Marika Lendl made her season debut and shot an even-par 72 that landed her in a tie for 33rd.
“It was her first competitive round in four-and-a-half months and I know her expectations for herself are high but she did not let that affect her play and she played a solid round for us today,” Dowling added. “She got into a little trouble off the tee a couple times but she was very consistent with her irons.”
Junior Evan Jensen survived a roller-coaster round to shot a one-over 73. She followed a bogey at 15 with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 to move to one-under through nine holes. She bogeyed No. 1, triple-bogeyed No. 4 and added another bogey on No. 6 but rallied to birdie the seventh and eighth holes.
Senior Jessica Yadloczky and sophomore Mia Piccio also carded one-over 73s.
Louisiana State totaled 10-under 278 to grab the first-round lead by a shot over Purdue and California. Duke was fourth at five-under 283, a shot ahead of Georgia and UCLA. Alabama was seventh at 285, followed by the Gators, Southern Californiai and Wake Forest, which was led by Michelle Shin, the first-round leader after an opening seven-under 65.