The Gators women’s golf team entered the final round at the Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship knowing it was in a position to finish as one of the tournament’s top teams.
After two rounds, the Gators were in fifth place and 10 strokes behind clubhouse leader LSU. But despite the fifth-place standing, with a team score of +22, the Gators’ best golf was ahead of them.
With top-10 individual finishes from senior Camilla Hedberg, freshman Taylor Tomlinson and sophomore Maria Torres, the Gators were able to climb to the near top of the leaderboards, finishing tied for second place with UCLA.
Hedberg, who entered the final round at eight-over-par, had a respectable day to close out the three-day tournament.
With a total of six birdies, Hedberg’s 2-under-par performance led the team, while giving the senior her second top-10 finish of the spring.
"It was great to see Camilla score well today," coach Emily Glaser said in a release. "She has had her patience tested over the last few months, but she continues to work hard and show her resilience."
In addition to Hedberg’s stellar Day 3 performance, the Gators enjoyed a solid showing from Tomlinson.
The freshman continued to build off of her consecutive top-25 finishes, shooting a career-best round score of -1, moving her to sixth place in the tournament. This marked Tomlinson’s first top-10 finish of her career.
"I’m happy for Taylor and her play this week," Glaser said. "She was very consistent and mature on the course. "
Then there was Torres.
Although she did not shoot under-par like Hedberg and Tomlinson, Torres finished the day at +1 (+5 for the tournament) and in a tie for 7th place. For Torres, this was her second top-10 finish of the spring season.
Junior Ursa Orehek capped off her tournament as an individual competitor.
Orehek struggled, ending the day with a score of nine-over-par. She finished the three-day tournament with a cumulative score of +25, placing her in a tie for 73rd place.
"We continue to get better a little at a time, but it doesn’t always show in your scores," Glaser said. "Today, though, it did and I’m happy about that for our team.
"We look forward to learning this week and preparing for the SunTrust Gator Invitational next weekend."
Follow Justen Rosenberg on Twitter @JustenRosenberg
Camilla Hedberg putts the ball during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on March 15.