Riding an impressive three-game win streak, the Florida Gators women’s golf squad entered the Therese Hession Regional with about as much momentum as you can hope for this early into the spring campaign.
However, the Therese Hession Regional, held in Palos Verdes, California, proved to be a daunting test for the Gators. While Florida’s previous tournament, the Sea Best Invitational, didn’t contain any top-25 teams, Therese Hession was littered with them.
The stacked competition consisted of No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 USC, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Arizona State and No. 8 Arizona. Other competing teams included Cal Poly, Clemson, Georgetown, Miami, Ohio State, Pepperdine, San Jose State and UCLA.
While the No. 26 Gators sit just outside the top 25, they have climbed 19 spots from their No. 45 fall ranking and seem poised to continue climbing in Clippd.com’s next rankings.
UF head coach Emily Glaser rolled out the same lineup as Florida’s previous tournament, riding the momentum of the six starters. This young, yet skilled, lineup consisted of sophomore Paula Francisco, freshman Siuee Wu, redshirt freshman Addison Klonowski, freshman Elaine Widjaja, sophomore Ines Archer and individual participant sophomore Sophie Stevens.
Day One
Despite an uneven performance to start, the Gators finished even after day one, landing them in fourth place.
Wu led the charge on opening day, turning in a stellar performance and shooting a 5-under to tie for the day one lead with California sophomore Kaylyn Noh. Wu shook off a slow start with three consecutive birdies on holes six through eight, three of her seven total birdies on the day. The 66 round was the best of Wu’s young career.
Archer also turned in a solid day one performance, as her par performance landed her tied at 13th and second for Florida. Her two late birdies pushed the Gators from sixth to fourth on the day in the final three holes.
However, everyone else on the Gators shot over par on day one. Francisco and Klonowski shot 2-over-par 69 and 3-over respectively, landing them tied at 27th and 40th, respectively.
Widjaja and Stevens did not enjoy the same level of success, as they shot a 6-over and 9-over.
Day Two
Monday was by far Florida’s best day. Nearly every golfer put up their best score in a performance that saw the Gators leap from fourth to second in the tournament. UF shot a collective 4-under-par 69 on the day, which was only behind tournament winner USC.
Widjaja led the day for the Gators, shooting 68 (3-under) to finish tied for second on the afternoon. The 3-under marked a drastic 12-stroke improvement from her 9-over the day before.
Not to be outdone, Klonowski and Francisco both shot 1-under on day two. Florida’s leading scorers for the tournament shot over par on day one, but both followed it up with an impressive 18 holes on the weekday slate.
After a career-best round on day one, Wu was unable to keep up the same pace, but still turned in a respectable 1-over performance. This put her into a tie for 24th on the day after leading the pack Sunday. Archer also finished the day tied at 24th, going 1-over.
Stevens struggled again on the individual front, as her 7-over on day two was even higher than her 6-over on day one. The usually steady shooter was unable to capitalize on three birdies in holes 7,10, and 15, shooting two double bogeys.
Day Three
The Gators entered Tuesday in second place at 4-under, five shots behind a talented USC roster which sat at 9-over. The five-shot lead would be tough to overcome, but UF had just staged a similar comeback last week against Illinois State which provided confidence.
However, the Gators were unable to produce the same magic, succumbing to a 9-over-par 69 on day three to fall out of second place and into fifth.
Francisco did her best to keep Florida afloat. The sophomore continued a red-hot start to the year, posting her second straight under-par score at 2-under.
The 2-under propelled Francisco to climb seven spots and finish sixth overall in the tournament with a 1-under total score, her second consecutive top-15 finish.
As the day three score may indicate, Francisco was the only Florida golfer to shoot under par on Tuesday. The next closest score was Klonowski, who managed a two-over on the final day to finish with a 4-over for the tournament.
Klonowski, Florida’s top-ranked golfer at No. 68 in the nation, finished tied at 21st in the tournament, eight spots below her 13th-place finish last week.
Also scoring a 2-over on Tuesday was Stevens in her individual heat — her best performance of the tournament. The score put Stevens’s total at a 15-over 293 in the tournament, good for tied at 72nd. This marks Stevens’s second consecutive final score outside of the top 50.
Archer and Widjaja suffered through 4-over and 5-over rounds, respectively. With an E and 1-over through two days, Archer was initially Florida’s steadiest golfer before two consecutive bogeys capped off a shaky round three.
Meanwhile, Widjaja’s score capped off a very uneven tournament. While the freshman had a stellar3-under on Monday, it was sandwiched between her Tuesday score and a 9-over performance on Sunday. After finishing in the top seven last week, both Archer and Widjaja finished outside of the top 25 in Columbus.
The most disappointing day three score belonged to Wu. After leading the pack on Sunday and finishing third after Monday, Tuesday saw Wu struggle to the tune of 9-over, landing Wu in 27th place. Despite the disappointing finish, Wu’s sensational day one has provided a lot of hope for what is still to come from the up-and-coming freshman.
Tuesday’s collapse dropped the Gators to a total score of 5-over 293, landing them in fifth place among the 16 teams in the competition. Florida can take some solace in the fact that the four teams above it — USC (-9), Oregon (-4), Texas (+2) and South Carolina (+3) — are all ranked in the top six nationally.
The Gators will recharge with a two-week break before their next tournament. Florida will be back in action for a weekend series Feb. 21-23 at the Lake Oconee Invitational in Lake Oconee, Georgia.
Contact Josh Stevens at JStevens1@alligator.org Follow him on X @josh.stevens.15.
