The final round of the Cougar Classic was successful for Florida.
Entering Tuesday, the Gators faced an 11-stroke deficit.
But after a furious rally, Florida (-5) came away with the team victory and individual title for junior Anna Young (-5).
The Gators needed help heading into the third round after Clemson’s (-4) impressive second day elevated it to the lead.
That’s exactly what Florida got.
Clemson struggled, going 5-over par as a team in the final round after recording a 6-under par score — tied for the second lowest score of the tournament — on Monday.
Mississippi State (+7), the first-round leader, had trouble with a 10-over-par third round, dropping the Bulldogs from second to fifth.
No. 10 Florida showed its poise by capitalizing on the mistakes, registering 18 birdies and a tournament-best 7-under-par round while making its climb up the leaderboard.
Facing a large deficit, UF had two players shoot lower than 69 on the par-72 Yeamans Hall course.
Young made five birdies, including the 18th hole, and did not shoot over par once en route to scoring a 67 on Tuesday — the third lowest single round score of the tournament. She played a key role in the Gators’ 7-under-par performance that lifted them from fifth to first and brought her name from 16th to the top of the individual leaderboard.
She was not the only Gator to play well in the third round. Karolina Vlckova notched a 68, bringing her just outside the top-five, finishing tied for sixth. Her six birdies against two bogeys was her best performance of the tournament, making more birdies in one day than she had in the previous two rounds combined.
Camilla Hedberg also had her best round with a 74, and Katie Mitchell held par for the second day in a row.
However, freshman Maria Torres struggled. She was leading the Gators at 3-under par after two rounds and tied for third when she shot 4-over par on the front nine, double bogeying the ninth hole. She managed par on the back nine with two birdies and two bogeys, keeping her at 76 on the day.
Follow Logan McGuire on Twitter @loganjmcguire.
