The Florida women’s golf team is in ninth place after the first round of the Moon Golf Invitational, shooting a collective 3-over-par Sunday.
The Gators had an average showing during the first day of spring competition. They are currently 11 shots behind the leading South Carolina Gamecocks, who sit at 8-under-par.
Annabell Fuller and Elis Esborn led the way for Florida and both shot even par. Esborn was the model of consistency Sunday. The Sweden national knocked down 16 pars in round one, plus a birdie and a bogey. They’re both inside the top 20 in a tie for 19th, trailing the leader, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard from USC, by nine strokes.
Florida’s No. 1 golfer was Jenny Kim, who finished the day with a 1-over-par 73 and shot three bogeys and two birdies. Senior Addie Baggarly came in right behind Kim and shot 2-over-par Sunday. Baggarly struggled a bit on the back nine after she carded a one-under-par 35 on the front half of the course. Sophomore Marina Escobar shot a 6-over-par 78.
While the results show a less than ideal day for Florida, the stats tell a different story. The Gators were top five in average on both par 3s and par 5s. They averaged 3.15 strokes per par 3 and 4.80 strokes per par 5.
If they can correct their play on the par 4s, in which they averaged 4.20 strokes, then they can make a comeback over the next few days.
While UF will be climbing out of a hole, it isn’t insurmountable. The team is only six shots away from being in the top five as LSU and FSU sit at 3-under-par.
The Gators will look to mount their comeback staring bright and early Monday, as Marina Escobar leads the squad off at 8 a.m. from the first tee. Live updates will be provided on 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.
