Heading into the opening round of the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship, the UF women’s golf team hadn’t played up to its full potential.
They took a step forward Friday.
The Gators shot under par for the first time this season with a 2-under total of 286.
“We’re looking for many more,” coach Jan Dowling said. “They just look like they’re going to shoot a low number out there. They’re confident. They’re happy. It’s good to see.”
UF is in a tie for eighth place and trail tournament-leader LSU by eight strokes.
Junior Andrea Watts carded six birdies for her first subpar round as a Gator, a 4-under-par 68. Watts had a bogey-free second nine with two birdies in her last three holes to help propel the Gators into red numbers as a team.
“When you’re happy and you’re hitting it well, things like that happen,” Dowling said.
Despite finishing at two under, UF combined for 18 birdies and Dowling said the team showed poise in grinding through the ups and downs that tournament golf often inflicts.
“When they’re making mistakes they’re not compounding them,” she said. “It’s allowing us to finish pretty strong.”
UF, hovering near even par for most of the round, was 2-over par as a team until playing the final three holes in 4 under.
Jessica Yadloczky came to her fourth hole, the par-4 13th, at 2 over after bogeying holes 10 and 12. Facing a 140-yard second shot into the green, the senior pulled out her 8-iron, took dead aim and fired at the pin. The ball landed on the green and disappeared into the bottom of the cup for an eagle.
Just like that, she was back to even par.
Yadloczky finished alongside two other Gators – juniors Mia Piccio and Evan Jensen – at 1 over.
Another bright spot was the performance of junior Marika Lendl. Coming off shoulder surgery, Lendl fired an even-par 72 in her first competitive round in more than four months.
The tournament runs through Sunday and UF will need a barrage of birdies if they want to keep pace. The field is loaded and ten of 18 teams are under par.
“We’re just going to continue to work on focusing on the things that we can control and it’s going to happen for us,” Dowling said.
