Two days before the 53rd Gators Invitational, the Florida women’s golf team found out its upcoming event would have a change in format. Rather than three rounds over three days, the tournament would now feature 36 holes on day one and 18 holes on day two. With rain looming over the Sunday portion of the competition, this was the best way to ensure three complete rounds of play.
Florida has won three tournaments so far this season. To earn their fourth, the Gators had to best the other 13 teams in the field. The competition included two ranked teams: No. 11 Virginia and No. 15 Ole Miss.
Day one of the tournament saw beautiful weather and incredible golf from the Gators. Redshirt freshman Addison Klonowski and true freshman Jessica Guiser gave Florida an early lead.
Guiser’s eagle on hole 12 allowed her to end the day 2-under 68. However, she entered the Gators Invitational as an individual player, so her score did not count toward the Gators team. Through the first 18 holes of the day, UF finished in third place behind Ole Miss and the University of Central Florida. The final score of the round was 282, which is 2-over par.
With little to no break, the women transitioned into their second round of the day. Florida teed off at approximately 2 p.m. in order to finish their 36-hole day before the sunset.
The second round saw a lot of movement for Florida. Sophomore Paula Francisco rose 11 place in the standings after completing the front nine. She made three birdies over nine holes, allowing her to move from T-14 to T-3.
The first day of the invitational ended with three of Florida’s players in the top ten. Guiser and Francisco ended in second and tied for third, respectively. Rounding out the Gators lineup was red shirt sophomore Karoline Tuttle, who ended the day 1-over 71 in T-10.
The second day of competition tested the golfers’ abilities to play in varying conditions. Around midway through play, rain began to pelt the players. Even then, they fitted their umbrellas to their carts and continued on.
Guiser began the final round of play with back-to-back bogeys. However, this did not shake her, as she ended the round 1-under 69. She and University of Central Florida junior Pimpisa “Sandwich” Sisutham competed for first place throughout the round.
Sisutham has won the last two Gators Invitational tournaments, but her bid for a three-peat was disrupted by the true freshman Gator.
In the final three holes, Sisutham hit a bogey, par and birdie. On the other side, Guiser managed to end with two birdies and a par. This final tally allowed Guiser to scrape together the win by one stroke.
“My whole team being here means the world to me,” Guiser said of her first collegiate win. “It just means so much going out there and playing, and everyone wearing the orange and blue, and then wearing it myself — I feel so proud."
Just hours before Florida’s men’s basketball squad tips off against Ole Miss, the women’s golf team defeated the Rebels. The two teams traded first and second place throughout the tournament, but in the end, Florida and the University of Virginia were able to push past them.
Florida’s five competitors finished the three rounds of play with a final score of 9-over. Klonowski was the only non-individual Gator to card a score under par with 1-under par.
This marks UF head coachEmily Glaser’s 35th win with the Gators. Since signing on with UF in 2012, Glaser has led the Gators to victory 10 times at this event. This makes up over a third of the Gators all-time wins at the Gators Invitational, which has been held since 1973.
“I just reminded them that winning is very special,” Glaser said after the team’s fourth win of the season. “It's not easy in golf, and it's obviously special to do it at home as well.”
The Gators’ next tournament will begin in two weeks at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They will compete against familiar opponents such as No. 11 Virginia, the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and the University of South Florida.
Contact Brooke Bastedo at brooke.bastedo@gmail.com. Follow her on X @BrookeBastedo.
