Consistency — especially in a three-day campaign — is an important factor for any sports team.
After a fierce three-day battle at the Palos Verdes Golf Club in California, the No. 12 Gators women’s golf team used consistent play to finish in third place at the Northrop-Grumman Regional Challenge on Tuesday, posting a 17-over-par team score.
The Gators matched their second-round score of 7-over-par in the third round to end the tournament and secure their spot behind No. 11 Alabama (+12) and No. 14 Washington (+6), which were tied for the lead heading into the final day.
The Gators opened the three-day tournament by firing a 3-over-287 on Sunday and started the 16-team tournament in fourth place.
Florida moved within five shots of Alabama and Washington in the second round, but a 1-over-285 performance by the Huskies put the tournament out of reach.
While a third-place finish at the 16-team tournament — which included the nation's top three teams — is no small feat, the Gators barely managed to crack the top 10 individually.
After improving significantly on Monday, the veteran duo of Karolina Vlckova and Maria Torres finished the tournament with better marks than ever before.
No one in Florida’s lineup showed consistent play like Vlckova, who finished all three rounds at 1-over-par. Tied for 17th place after the first round, she matched her score in the second round and finished in 7th place. However, a matching score for the third straight day didn’t cut it for Vlckova, as she fell slightly into a tie for 10th overall.
Torres went 4-over for the tournament to finish tied for 13th in the 88-person field. She finished by posting back-to-back par rounds on the final two days.
Unlike Torres and Vlckova, freshman Sam Wagner and junior Kelly Grassel saw a consistent decline over the three days.
The duo started by leading the Gators after one round. However, they did not see the same success in the second and third rounds, and ultimately finished in 20th and 33rd, respectively.
Sophomore Taylor Tomlinson, on the other hand, saw consistent improvement in her play. Starting the tournament in 42nd place, Tomlinson moved up to 20th place by the end of the tournament.
The team will have 12 days to rest up after coming back from California, as their next outing on the green will be the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship. The three-day tournament begins on Feb. 21.
Contact Alfredo Morales at amorales@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @amorales_95.
Maria Torres tees off during the 2015 SunTrust Gator Invitational at UF's Mark Bostick Golf Course.
