Gators senior Taylor Tomlinson’s season didn’t begin the way that she wanted it to at the Ocean Course Invitational earlier this month. Tomlinson, the only upperclassman on the Gators’ roster, was outshined by two freshmen on her way to a disappointing 50th-place finish.
However, her play appears to be much improved after two rounds in Norman, Oklahoma. After an impressive first round in which she was 3-under, she cooled down a little bit in the second round on Sunday afternoon, and she finished 2-over for the round.
Despite this, it was good enough for a tie for ninth place overall, and she has led Florida to a second-place tie with Texas A&M on the team leaderboard, trailing only Alabama.
As Florida’s leader, the Gators likely expect Tomlinson to put up more solid numbers the rest of the season to take some of the pressure off of the underclassmen.
It has been a much more consistent outing for the Gators this weekend in Oklahoma, with four golfers in the top 25 and all five golfers in the top 40.
"Overall, I thought we played more solid today,” coach Emily Glaser said in a release. “We are making enough birdies to play very well. If we can clean up a few of our course management errors, we have the potential to post a great number and that will be our goal for tomorrow.”
Another Florida golfer who put together a solid performance on Sunday was freshman Addie Baggarly. She was 1-under for the day and shot six birdies. As a result, she is tied for 23rd heading into the final round on Monday.
In fact, she is one of three Gators currently tied for 23rd, joined by Elin Esborn and Marta Perez.
Esborn, who made a name for herself in the first tournament, has been hot and cold in this weekend’s tournament, shooting 1-under in the first round and 3-over on Sunday. Perez, a sophomore, was even on Sunday, moving up the leaderboard.
Carlotta Ricolfi, the final member of Florida’s lineup, shot 1-over in the second round and currently sits in a tie for 31st.
Solid play behind the leader, something Florida struggled with at the Ocean Course Invitational, is one of the main reasons Florida finds itself in second place. Florida as a team is currently 8 strokes behind Alabama, and it will attempt to make up some of that ground as it heads into the final round on Monday.
You can follow Tyler Nettuno on Twitter @TylerNettuno, and contact him at tnettuno@alligator.org.
Taylor Tomlinson putts during the 2015 Suntrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville.
