The Florida women’s golf team entered the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic without two of its regular starters.
Juniors Sierra Brooks and Marta Perez competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amatuer last weekend, finishing in a tie for 10th (+1) and a tie for 21st (+4), respectively.
Both were excused from the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic, so the No. 8 Gators turned to other golfers for the first round of the tournament on Thursday. UF ended the day in eighth place at 14 over, 12 strokes behind first-place Augusta.
Freshman Jenny Kim returned to the starting lineup for the first time since playing at the Cougar Classic in September.
Kim bogeyed the first hole of the round but settled down after that, recording a par in her next seven holes.
She shot two double-bogeys on the back nine before earning a birdie on two of her last four holes.
The freshman finished in a tie for 33rd with a score of 4 over after the first round.
Sophomore Lauren Waidner, who had not started since the Betsy Rawls Invitational in October, struggled in the first 18 holes of the event.
She posted seven bogeys, one double-bogey and one triple-bogey and failed to record a birdie.
Waidner’s poor play placed her in a tie for 56th with a score of 12 over.
Junior Carlotta Ricolfi has played as an individual several times in the spring but made her first start of the season on Thursday.
Ricolfi ended the first round in a tie for 48th (+7) behind five bogeys, one triple-bogey and only one birdie.
Freshman Clara Manzalini had her best finish of the season at the Evans Derby Experience in March, tying for third place with a score of 1 under.
And she was Florida’s top golfer through the opening round of the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic.
Manzalini notched the most birdies on the team (3), including two on her last two holes.
Her strong finish led to a score of 1 over, putting her in a tie for seventh place among all golfers.
Sophomore Addie Baggarly started with a double-bogey on the second hole, but recorded only one bogey the rest of the way.
She ended in a tie for 15th at a score of 2 over.
Manzalini and Baggarly were the only two Gators who finished in the top 15 after the first day of the tournament.
Follow Bryan Matamoros on Twitter @bmatamoros_ and contact him at bmatamoros@alligator.org.
UF women's golfers Sierra Brooks (pictured) and Marta Perez were excused for the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic after they competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amatuer last weekend.
