The Gators began their battle against the other 15 SEC schools at the 2021 SEC Championship Wednesday. They shot a collective 9-under-par collective on day one and sit seven strokes back of the lead entering Thursday.
Florida trails the leading South Carolina Gamecocks by seven strokes.
Senior Addie Baggarly led the Gators Wednesday. Baggarly has been a rock in the Florida lineup all season, and round one of the SEC Championship was no different. The Tennessee native sits in a tie for 13th and shot a 4-under-par 68 in the first round of competition. Her round included five birdies and just one bogey.
Baggarly’s five birdies were the fourth-most in the field, and she averaged the second-best score on par-4s (3.60). She also averaged a solid 2.75 on par-3s but struggled on the par-5s. Baggarly shot 1-over-par for an average of 5.25 on the long holes.
Sophomore Annabell Fuller followed closely behind her ANWA counterpart and shot a 3-under-par 69. The England native’s scorecard featured six birdies, the third most in the field, and three bogeys. She is within striking distance, currently tied for 16th and just two shots off the leaders.
Sophomore Marina Escobar shot a 2-under-par 70. Escobar kept her scorecard relatively clean and notched just one bogey to go along with three birdies. Despite being one stroke behind Fuller, the Spaniard is tied for 25th.
Maisie Filler, who entered the week as Florida’s No. 1 golfer, shot even par Wednesday. The freshman had a clean round going on the front nine and carded one birdie. However, a triple bogey on the par-4 10th hole left her playing catch up as she finished the back half of the course. Filler knocked down two more birdies to finish with a 72. Senior Lauren Waidner rounded out the Gator lineup with a 3-over-par 75.
The Gators finished round one in the middle of the pack statistically. They averaged the third-best score on par-3s (2.90), the fifth best on par-4s (3.94) and knocked in the fifth-most birdies (20).
Florida kept itself in the tournament with its performance in round one, and it will look to move up the leaderboard Thursday. The Gators will start their round at 8:50 a.m., with Waidner leading them off the first tee. Live updates are available at Golfstat.com.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Michael_Hull33
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
