Sometimes in sports, you never know when your number will be called. But when it is, you must be prepared and be ready to step in and contribute for your team.
That’s exactly what Isabelle Lendl did Friday for the UF women’s golf team at the Tar Heel Invitational held at the UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.
When her sister Marika Lendl became unexpectedly ill Wednesday, Isabelle was thrust into the lineup.
She responded with her first under-par round of the season to help lead the No. 24 Gators into a third-place tie after the opening round of the three-day tournament with an even-par score of 288.
“That’s the beauty of this team,” coach Jan Dowling said. “We have a lot of depth to be able to bring in a person who wasn’t going to be in our lineup and shoot 1 under. She stepped up today.”
No. 3 Alabama sits atop the leaderboard with an 11-under 277. No. 1 LSU is in second with a 3-under 285 and UF is tied with Duke at even.
“Overall, I felt like our team grinded pretty well,” Dowling said. “Tied for third is a good thing. It’s just a shame we’re 11 shots back.”
Lendl birdied her first hole, the par-4 10th, on her way to a 1-under round of 71.
But the low score of the day for the Gators belonged to junior Evan Jensen, who continued her steady play with a 2-under 70. Jensen carded five birdies on her round, however none came on the par-5s, holes that Dowling believes her team needs to take advantage of.
“The par-5s are very ‘scoreable,’” Dowling said. “We missed some opportunities for some birdies there. I felt like we could have been a lot lower than we were today.”
Also firing five birdies on her round was senior Jessica Yadloczky who Dowling said is returning to her previous form and possibly on the verge of exceeding it. Two double bogeys set her round back however, and she finished at even-par 72.
Sophomore Mia Piccio made bogey on holes nine, 15 and 18 but parred out the rest of the way for a 3-over 75. Andrea Watts matched Piccio’s 75, but the junior took quite the different route. Watts had three birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey on the day.
“We’re getting a taste of being under par as a team,” Dowling said. “I feel like we could have easily been under par [Friday]. But that’s what the next two days are for.”
