The Florida Gators Women’s Golf team is off to an exceptional start to the 2023-2024 campaign.
The team teed off Monday at Old Waverly Club in West Point, Mississippi. UF came out victorious in the 12-team tournament.
Senior Maisie Filler won back-to-back tournaments as the Gators claimed their third tournament victory of the season.
Florida trailed by four strokes from the leader Indiana (-7) after round one. Filler put together a solid 3-under 69 performance to lead UF Monday. She tallied her seventh under-par round of the season, and it was her fourth straight round in the 60s this Fall.
Filler holed four birdies in the last five holes and tied for fourth and two shots back from the solo leader after Monday’s action.
Freshman Ines Archer shot a low round of 1-under 71 and was T8. Her first round was highlighted by an eagle on hole 15.
The next two Gators featured in the lineup were separated by only one stroke after round one. Fifth year Jackie Lucena finished even T13 with freshman Sophie Stevens just behind her (+1) T15.
Fifth year Annabell Fuller rounded out Monday’s lineup tied for 36th. Fellow fifth year Marina Escobar competed as an individual and finished T46.
The Gators took advantage of “Moving Day” on their way to grabbing the tournament lead by six shots after round two at The Ally Tuesday.
Archer carried the load for the Gators with back-to-back rounds of 71 (-1). She shot 3-under and bogey-free through 14 holes. She stood tied for fourth with teammate Filler and stood only two shots back of the solo leader at 2-under overall.
Another pair of Gators were tied after 36 holes as Lucena and Stevens both found themselves T16.
Competing as an individual, Escobar bounced back from an underwhelming first round with a 72-even outing Tuesday and tied for 29th. Fuller trailed just a few shots behind at T44.
Florida teed off round three with a six-stroke lead and cruised to an 11-shot victory. The team shot the lowest round of the day with a 285 (-3) performance. The victory marks head coach Emily Glaser’s 31st win all time.
Coming off her first collegiate win last tournament, Filler continued to ride her momentum.
She became the 13th player in program history to record two victories in the same season. The senior posted four straight birdies in round three en route to a tournament-high 16 birdies for the tournament.
Filler shot a final round score of 66 (-6) for her team-best eighth round under par this season. She finished three out of the four Fall events under par.
A duo of freshmen, Archer and Stevens, shot even 72 rounds, respectively. Archer finished the tournament fourth as Stevens capped off her third top-15 performance with a T10 finish.
Lucena recorded her third consecutive top-25 finish, placing T17. Escobar finished two strokes back, placing T26 as an individual. Fuller rounded out Wednesday’s lineup, finishing T54.
The Gators will begin the Spring season at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, California. The three-day 54-hole event will be Feb. 4-6.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @MaxTucker25.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
