After two rounds of play in the Central District Invitational, the Florida women’s golf team is in the lead, 20 strokes ahead of second place.
The Gators finished 36 holes with a five under-par score of 571 (290-281) and with four players in the top 10.
“It [today] was a true team effort, which is probably what I am most proud of,” UF women’s coach Jan Dowling said. “Their patience out their today [is the second thing I contribute their success to] it is something that we had been talking about all fall and after our first tournament this spring, just staying really patient and really confident in their ability. It was difficult conditions today, it was really windy in the afternoon, and we’re seven under as a team…Everyone stayed patient and positive all day, nothing ever rattled them.”
Freshman Isabelle Lendl, who carded 141 (74-67, -3), has continued to build off her success at the Northrop Grumman Regional Tournament, where she battled back to finish in 11th place. Lendl took that confidence to her round Monday, finishing in second place one stroke behind leader Arkansas’ Kelli Shean .
“With golf, it’s a long term work ethic, and that is something that Isabelle is totally committed to what she is doing with her golf game,” Dowling said. “I am really happy for her and proud of her. All her hard work is paying off. She is hitting the ball super solid right now and this afternoon she made a lot of putts.”
In both the first and second rounds, Lendl proved that age and talent don’t necessarily go hand in hand. The freshman outplayed her older teammates, carding eight birdies to keep her five bogeys at bay.
In a tie for third is Lendl’s older sister, sophomore Marika. She finished just one stroke behind with a two round total of 142 (-2). Lendl made an even par her first round and then went on to finish two-under in her second round.
Finishing in fifth place, sophomore Evan Jensen shot a one-under-par score of 143. Jensen made par in her first round and then went one under in her second round with one bogey and two birdies.
Freshman Mia Piccio finished in a tie for seventh, just two strokes behind Jensen. Despite a double bogey in her first round, Piccio was able to keep it even.
Rounding out the lineup for the Gators was junior Jessica Yadloczky, who finished last for the squad. The junior finished nine strokes behind her freshman teammate after two double bogeys and a bogey set her four behind in the first round.
“We are going to attack this course again and keep doing what we have been doing,” Dowling said. “It’s been working.”
