It was a dismal day for the Gators at the Mark Bostick Golf Course on Friday.
Though the Gators had the home advantage during the first round of the SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational, the team faltered and finished four above the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 302 (+25).
“Everyone who plays golf knows that it can be a humbling game,” coach Emily Glaser said. “Although we played a little bit better on the back half, it was too little too late.”
Glaser noted that though the Gators played “a little bit better” on the back half, the golf course made it difficult to rebound from a rough start.
Freshman Karolina Vlckova, competing as an individual, landed in first place after competition as the only player who shot under-par (69) during round one. Junior Camilla Hedberg, who shot a tournament-high five birdies, tied for second with two other players after scoring a season-best 70.
Vlckova was the only Florida player who didn’t shoot a double bogey during the tournament.
The rest of the Gators floundered during competition. Despite shooting three birdies, freshman Maria Torres fell to 16th after shooting four bogeys and a double bogey.
Senior Elcin Ulu plummeted to 65th with nine bogeys and a single birdie.
Redshirt sophomore Katie Mitchell and junior Sarah Schober tied with each other for 76th place after both players shot a combined 14 bogeys and failed to shoot a single birdie.
Sophomore Ursa Orehek trailed Vlckova in the individual competition by seven strokes.
No. 16 Florida trailed leaders Ohio State and FSU by 13 strokes after Friday’s competition and sit four strokes from the bottom.
Despite the disheartening performance, the Gators still saw a chance for improvement with the scores being, in Glaser’s words, “pretty bunched up.”
“If we can put a couple of solid rounds together over the weekend,” Glaser said. “We can end on a good note and that would be positive for the team.”
Follow Emily Cochrane on Twitter @EmilySCochrane
