The Gators finished 18 holes on Sunday at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invite with a 5-over 293.
No. 6 UF took the course in Austin, Texas, for its final event of the fall season against a field that includes nine teams in Golfweek’s Top 50. Florida sits in fourth place, nine strokes behind tournament leader Alabama, which shot a 284 (-4).
“Everyone did a good job of staying patient during a cold and breezy day,” coach Emily Bastel said. “Overall, we had a good day. We did a pretty good job of managing our way around the course. Tomorrow, we are looking for a few more puts to drop and to improve on the mistakes we made today.”
The efforts of sophomore Camilla Hedberg, Isabelle Lendl and Mia Piccio fueled the Gators’ performance.
Hedberg posted Florida’s lone under-par score in the first round. She started the day strong, with birdies on holes 2 and 4. Hedberg bogeyed holes 13 and 17 but would finish with a 71 (-1).
She is currently tied for fifth.
Seniors Mia Piccio and Isabelle Lendl both finished the first round at 73 (+1).
Lendl shot a balanced round before bogeying hole 13 to finish 1-over. The Goshen, Conn., native is coming off two consecutive first-place finishes at the Dale McNamara Invitational and the Tar Heel Invitational.
Piccio began the round strong with three birdies on the front nine, putting her 2-under. On the back nine, Piccio carded three bogeys to finish 1-over. Sunday marked Piccio’s first round of play after missing the Tar Heel Invite two weeks ago to attend Qualifying School for the LPGA Tour.
Lendl and Piccio will open play on Monday in a tie for 19th.
JUCO transfer Elcin Ulu and freshman Ursa Orehek both carded a 76 (+4) to round out Florida’s lineup.
The Gators finished tied for second at the Betsy Rawls Invitational last season, marking the team’s second top-two finish of the year. UF looks to recapture that success over the course of the next two days.
The Gators will pick up play today.
