It’s not often in a round of golf that everything comes together at the same time, but that’s exactly what happened for the Florida women’s golf team Sunday at the Liz Murphy Invitational.
The Gators shot up the leaderboard, moving from 12th to fifth with a tournament course record-tying 11-under-par round.
UF coach Jan Dowling has preached all year that her squad has the potential to stack up with any team in the nation, and the Gators finally made good on that claim Sunday.
“This is a huge confidence-builder for us,” Dowling said. “Our goal all season has been to peak in the postseason, and if we can take care of business in the next two weeks, we look ready to do that.”
On a day with many memorable performances, the most gratifying for UF was the 2-under-par 70 carded by senior Jessica Yadloczky. The team captain has struggled during her final year in Gainesville, but her impact on the team has still been substantial due to her leadership and competitiveness in practice.
Yadloczky shot two birdies over her last five holes to earn her first under-par round of the season.
Sophomore Mia Piccio turned in Florida’s lowest score of the day. She shot a 3-under-par 69, climbing to 11th on the individual leaderboard after carding five birdies in seven holes on the front nine.
Sophomore Isabelle Lendl also played her best round of an impressive tournament Sunday. Lendl’s 1-under-par performance earned her a fifth-place finish.
The Gators now have a two-week layoff before heading to Auburn for the Southeastern Conference Championship on April 15.
“We just need to do what we normally do to keep the momentum from this round for SECs,” Dowling said. “Our focus in practice has been our short game, and it worked well for us today, so we’re going to continue with that.”
