Lauren Waidner prepared to tee off at the 11th hole of the Mark Bostick Golf Course on March 10.
It was the second round of the Florida women’s golf team’s fourth tournament of the spring, the SunTrust Gator Invitational, and Waidner — who was competing as an individual for UF — gave the ball one final glance before she swung her club through the white sphere.
Then, whack.
As Waidner watched the ball land over 100 yards away, what happened next was a first in her collegiate career: a hole-in-one.
However, it didn’t thrill her in the slightest.
“My dad was on the left and he put his hands up and everything,” she said. “(To me) it was just like, ‘Oh cool, it went in.’”
Although Waidner had one of the highlights of the tournament, her first season at Florida hasn’t quite seen the results she had been hoping for.
“My scores haven’t been what they wanted, but this is more of just a process year for me,” Waidner said.
Waidner has only played in three tournaments this season and has never shot better than 10 over par, but she does keep it light by watching some of her favorite TV shows, including the Office and — most recently — New Girl.
“Life is kinda serious,” she said, “so it’s nice to watch things that are funny.”
But sometimes the Jacksonville, Florida, native likes to balance out the comedy by watching her favorite movie, the dramatic Les Miserables.
Outside of playing golf and watching television, Waidner also has one particular dish he enjoys eating.
“Açaí bowls,” she said with a smile. “I eat a lot of açaí bowls…my favorite place is Vale (Food Co.). (Teammate Sierra Brooks) and I go there like five times a week.”
Follow Chris O'Brien on Twitter @THEChrisOB and contact him at cobrien@alligator.org.
Freshman Lauren Waidner notched a hole-in-one during the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville on March 10.
