NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Florida women’s golf team finished in a 10th-place tie with Duke Sunday after the final round of the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship hosted by Vanderbilt University at the par-72, 6,281-yard Legends Course.
Coach Jan Dowling’s Gators, who are ranked No. 19 in the fall preseason Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, combined for a final round of 3-over-par 291 for a final total of 8-over-par 872. No. 21 Louisiana State won the team title with a 21-under-par 843 total, two strokes better than Purdue. Tied for third at 851 were No. 1 UCLA and No. 3 Southern California.
“We played a team game today,” Dowling said. “We left some shots out there today and that comes back to the short game, but we made a lot of birdies. I was happy with how the team finished.”
Florida’s best individual finishes were a pair of T35s by juniors Evan Jensen (ranked No. 79) and Andrea Watts (No. 193). Jensen shot a final round of 1-under-par 71 to finish at 1-over-par 217, while Watts, who opened the tournament with a career-best round of 4-under-par 68, closed with a 3-over 75 that left her at 217.
“Evan always stays on an even keel and nothing really seems to bother her,” Dowling noted. “That helps her play consistently and she is a big help to our team.”
Junior Marika Lendl (No. 101), who opened with an even-par 72, closed with a 72 for a 5-over-par total of 221 that left her tied for 46th. Senior Jessica Yadloczky (No. 172) and sophomore Mia Piccio (No. 97) shot rounds of 73 and 81, respectively, to finish with 9-over-par totals of 225 that left them tied for 62nd place.
California’s Pia Halbig was the medalist with a 13-under-par total of 203, three strokes better than Wake Forest’s Michelle Shin.
The Gators will be in action next at the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. from Oct. 8-10.
MASON RUDOLPH WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
At Vanderbilt Legends Club, Nashville, Tenn.
Par: 72. Yardage: 6,281 yards.
Note: Numbers in parentheses in front of schools and individuals are their updated fall Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.
Team scores: 1. (21) Louisiana State 843 (278-282-283) (-21); 2. (7) Purdue 845 (279-282-284) (-19); T3. (3) Southern California 851 (286-287-278) (-13) and (1) UCLA 851 (284-288-279) (-13); 5. (17) California 854 (279-284-291) (-10); 6. (5) Alabama 859 (285-286-288) (-5); T7. (15) Georgia 862 (284-286-292) (-2) and (13) Vanderbilt 862 (289-285-288) (-2); 9. (10) Wake Forest 867 (286-284-297) (+3); T10. (19) Florida 872 (286-295-291) (+8) and (8) Duke 872 (283-297-292) (+8); 12. (6) Auburn 876 (294-288-294) (+12); 13. (29) Texas 878 (294-293-291) (+14); 14. (32) North Carolina 885 (289-303-293) (+21); 15. (18) Stanford 889 (298-294-297) (+25); 16. (28) Oklahoma State 894 (293-300-301) (+30); 17. (67) College of Charleston 920 (307-303-310) (+56).
Top 10 individuals: 1. (61) Pia Halbig (California) 203 (68-67-68) (-13); 2. (45) Michelle Shin (Wake Forest) 206 (65-70-71) (-10); 3. (2) Cydney Clanton (Auburn) 208 (72-69-67) (-8); T4. (nr) Ani Gulugian (UCLA) 209 (70-70-69) (-7), (9) Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (Purdue) 209 (67-69-73) (-7), (12) Camilla Lennarth (Alabama) 209 (68-71-70) (-7), (18) Megan McChrystal (Louisiana State) 209 (70-71-68) (-7) and (39) Lisa McCloskey (Southern California) 209 (70-72-67) (-7); T9. (10) Carlota Ciganda (Arizona State) 211 (74-67-70) (-5), (nr) Lindy Duncan (Duke) 211 (69-73-69) (-5), (28) Numa Gulyanamitta (Purdue) 211 (68-74-69) (-5), (7) Stephanie Kono (UCLA) 211 (69-72-70) (-5) and (34) Brooke Pancake (Alabama) 211 (67-70-74) (-5).
Florida scores: T35. (79) Evan Jensen 217 (73-73-71) (+1) and (193) Andrea Watts 217 (68-74-75) (+1); T46. (101) Marika Lendl 221 (72-77-72) (+5); T62. (97) Mia Piccio 225 (73-71-81) (+9) and (172) Jessica Yadloczky 225 (73-79-73).