Over the course of its fall schedule, the Florida women’s golf team has had opportunities to win but hasn’t taken advantage of them.
One of the main reasons why is no golfer has consistently carded low finishes. No one on Florida’s team has finished in the top 10 of a fall tournament more than once. While it entirely surprising considering the youth on UF’s roster, it won’t be easy for the Gators to repeat their SEC title without a consistent low scorer.
Florida will look to do just that during this weekend’s Landfall Tradition at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina.
UF coach Emily Glaser will put redshirt freshman Elin Esborn and freshman Addie Baggarly into the top two spots in the lineup. Esborn, who will be in the one spot, has the highest finish of any UF women’s golfer this fall, placing fifth at the season-opening Ocean Course Invitational.
Baggarly performed well in the first two tournaments, finishing in the top 30 for both. However, she struggled at Windy City, where she tied for 53rd. This was the worst finish of any Florida golfer at the tournament.
Glaser has a lot of faith in the young duo. They’ve both flashed potential, but haven’t established themselves as the leaders of this team. However, Glaser believes that both can be.
“Both of them have a ton of firepower,” Glaser said prior to the tournament. “Both of them are capable of winning golf tournaments and playing in that number one spot.”
Winning in North Carolina will take more than just strong play from Esborn and Baggarly. Senior Taylor Tomlinson finished tied for 12th at Windy City, her strongest performance of the year. After a couple of rough tournaments, UF will hope to see Tomlinson build off of her strong outing in Chicago.
“We just need to get (Tomlinson) comfortable in her leadership role and get her peaking at the right time,” Glaser said. “She has the potential and has played well in some really big events for us.”
Sophomores Carlotta Ricolfi and Marta Perez round out the Gators’ lineup for Landfall, and both are coming off of strong performances in Chicago. They both carded career-low rounds in the past two tournaments, with Ricolfi shooting a 68 at Windy City and Perez shooting a 66 at the Schooner Fall Classic. In Chicago, both finished in the top 30, with Ricolfi tied for 18th and Perez tied for 28th.
Florida has improved in every tournament, but is still looking for a season-altering moment, whether it be an individual or team victory. More than anything, UF wants to see one of its golfers step up and help put the team in position to win on Day 3.
“We’re very capable,” she said. “I think we can be a very good team.”
You can contact Tyler Nettuno on Twitter @TylerNettuno, and contact him at tnettuno@alligator.org.
UF coach Emily Glaser will put redshirt freshman Elin Esborn and freshman Addie Baggarly into the top two spots in the lineup for the Landfall Tradition.
