The Gators women’s golf team entered the second round of the Bryan National Collegiate tournament in a similar position as last year: fifth place.
But after Saturday’s second day, the Gators saw a drop in the standings and will enter Sunday’s final round in tenth. This is just one place behind their second-round ninth place finish from last year.
“It's unfortunate that we let it get away from us today,” coach Emily Glaser said in a release. “It was more the giveaways that cost us, unforced errors that are uncharacteristic of us lately, but plagued us today.”
Round 2 was a forgettable one for the team, as sophomore Maria Torres was the only one in the lineup to improve on their first day scores.
The Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, native led the way for the team in the second round, finishing with a score of 4-over-par. She will head into the final round with a cumulative score of 10-over-par, putting her in a tie for 32.
Freshman Taylor Tomlinson shot the next lowest score for the Gators, finishing Day 2 with a score of 5-over-par.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. Tomlinson was recently named Southeastern Conference Women’s Freshman Golfer of the Week twice in as many weeks.
Then there is senior Camilla Hedberg.
At the same tournament last year, Hedberg had one of her best collegiate performances. After three rounds, Hedberg finished with a score of 3-under-par and was tied for third on the leaderboards.
This year, however, is a different story.
Hedberg shot a 10-over-par on Saturday, which was her worst round of golf this season. Entering the final round, Hedberg is substantially behind in the leaderboards and will likely miss out on the top-25 for her third consecutive tournament, as she sits in a tie for 59.
But despite a 10th-place standing, the Gators are just seven strokes back of Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Florida State for fifth place.
If history is any representative of the present, the Gators will head into the third and final round knowing last week’s Day 3 was a success. At the Briar’s Creek Invitational, Torres and sophomore Karolina Vlckova shot the highest Round 3 scores, which were a solid even par.
“It's only one round and I know that we can re-group for tomorrow,” Glaser said. “Tomorrow is an opportunity to show our toughness, and our attitudes need to be good for all 18 holes.”
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Maria Torres hits the ball during the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational on March 15.
