Florida’s women’s golf traveled down to Boca Raton and into a glut of high-level, SEC talent Monday for its season-opener at the FAU Paradise Invitational.
The Gators jockeyed for top spot against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State for much of the two-day tournament, and it took a program-best 29-under par to beat VU by three strokes.
Junior Marina Escobar and sophomore Maisie Filler secured the title with final birdies in round 3 against Vanderbilt. The Commodores fell behind them overall at the end of the tournament after beginning the day tied with Florida and Mississippi State.
Before round 3, the teams were tied at 18-under during a round that was suspended when darkness settled at the end of the day. Round two continued Tuesday morning and led right into the third round where Escobar and Filler contributed to a strong victory.
Filler shot the overall low for the tournament with 205 (-11). The score is her new career-low round and included eight birdies within the third round.
Round 3 saw the lowest score of the matchup for the Gators with the team shooting 277. Their total tournament score of 835 (-29) broke their previous record of 838 (-26) set in 2019 at the Gators Invitational.
The team now sits in seventh in the national rankings behind the University of Arkansas, but will compete to move up in their next tournament that will take place in Melbourne from Feb. 20-22 for the Moon Golf Invitational.
“Great start and a total team effort this week,” head coach Emily Glaser told Florida Gators news. “This group is really committed to the process and we will continue to find little ways to keep improving each week.”
Contact Lillian Randolph at lrandolph@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @lillyrrandolph.
