Competing against yet another strong field, Florida continued its season in Charlotte, N.C., where the team wrapped up the first round of play at the Tar Heel Invite in a tie for ninth place.
Senior Isabelle Lendl put together an impressive round amid the Gators’ early struggles, carding a 70 (-2).
Lendl found a rhythm early, birdying holes three through five on the front nine to finish with team-high four birdies.
“Isabelle had a good round today. She played very steady and stayed patient the entire day,” coach Emily Bastel said.
She had bogies on holes 17 and 18, but her early start propelled her into a tie for 3rd in the individual leaderboards and has put her in a position for another individual win.
In spite of Lendl’s fast start, the Gators were unable to capitalize on the team’s early season success in which they strung together two consecutive top-2 finishes, including a team win at the Cougar Classic.
Florida concluded Day 1 on the par 72, 6,285-yard course at 301 (+13).
“This golf course is tough however we made a bunch of unforced errors that cost us,” Bastel said.
Duke, at No. 5 overall and five South Eastern Conference opponents in Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and South Carolina are participating in the tournament.
Sophomore Camilla Hedberg and freshman Ursa Orehek stumbled early, but regained their composure to finish the day at 75 (+3) and 76 (+4), respectively.
Anna Young, a Saskatchewan native, struggled at the Finley Golf Course with three consecutive double-bogeys on the front nine.
The sophomore would finish at 84 (+12) for the day.
Rounding out the Gators’ lineup is JUCO transfer Elcin Ulu who made her first tournament appearance in a Florida uniform. Ulu faced early difficulties, bogeying six holes to round out the day at 80 (+8).
Florida will pick up play on Saturday with two more rounds of play remaining. Bastel is confident her team can turn it around.
“The key is to learn from our mistakes,” she said. “We have two more days to redeem ourselves.”
