Freshman Taylor Tomlinson continues to impress in her short time as collegiate golfer, as she led the way for the Florida women’s golf team after the first round of the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Tomlinson shot an even-par, 72 in the opening round at the Finley Golf Course. Tomlinson, along with the rest of the team, started on the back nine. Tomlinson pared the first eight holes on the back nine, before ending with a double bogey on the 18th.
On hole number one, Tomlinson made a bogey, before having three straight birdies on holes three through five to get back to even-par. She finished her round by sinking pars on the final four holes. Tomlinson sits in a tie for 16th place after the first round.
Overall, UF is in a tie for sixth place at 5-over-par and six shots off the pace set by Southeastern Conference foe, No. 2 South Carolina, who sit at 1-under-par. South Carolina holds a one shot lead over No. 5 Duke and No. 20 Wake Forest.
Sophomore Kelly Grassel sits one shot behind Tomlinson at 1-over-par. Grassel finished the day with three bogeys and two birdies, with the second one coming on her last hole of the first round. Grassel is in a tie for 21st place after her first round performance.
Junior Ursa Orehek and sophomore Maria Torres are sitting at 2-over-par, after they shot a 74. Orehek had five bogeys and three birdies on her day, while Torres was only able to make one birdie.
Coach Emily Glaser has preached to the team about being more consistent after the team’s poor performance at the Cougar Classic. The team’s first round performance at Chapel Hill showed Glaser the team can be patient and consistent in their play.
“It was a solid start for the team today,” Glaser said. “We did a great job of trusting our game plan and staying patient. It’s great to see some progress on that front from just a few weeks ago.”
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
