Senior Isabelle Lendl earned her second consecutive outright victory at the Tar Heel Invite. She carded a 3-under 69, which was good enough to best Baylor’s Hayley Davis by three strokes.
Lendl started the final round of play one shot off the lead, but amassed six birdies to move ahead of overnight leader Davis on Sunday.
“I am really proud of Isabelle,” coach Emily Bastel said. “Back-to-back wins [are] very impressive. She bounced back from a triple today on number 10 and it showed there was no give up in her.”
The Goshen, Conn., native birdied three consecutive holes on the back nine of the Finley Golf Course en route to a tournament-low round score of 69 on the final day of play in Chapel Hill, N.C.
She finished the three-round tournament with a 210 (-6).
Despite Lendl’s strong showing on the fairways, Florida was unable to make a comeback after trailing host North Carolina by 12 shots and Baylor by two entering Sunday.
The Gators slipped six spots in the team standings after a score of 302 (+14). Florida carded 895 (+31) during the three-day tournament.
Sophomore Camilla Hedberg struggled on Sunday, turning in a 77 (+5) after shooting 70 (-2) on Saturday. Hedberg added two double bogeys to her round and finished the tournament tied for 19th (+6).
JUCO transfer Elcin Ulu shot a 77 (+5) on Sunday and finished with a tournament total of 232 (+16). Freshman Ursa Orehek cared a 87 (+15), tying for 87th with a 239 (+23). Sophomore Anna Young shot a 79, rounding out the weekend in 92nd place with a three-day total 245 (+29).
“We have a lot to learn from this tournament,” Bastel said. “We won’t waste any time getting prepared for Texas, and I am happy we get to compete again this fall.”
Florida will play its final tournament of the fall season when it travels to Austin, Texas, for the Betsy Rawls Invitational on Oct. 28.
Senior Isabelle Lendl chips a shot onto the green. Lendl finished tied for 32nd at the Bryan National Collegiate this weekend.
