The final round of the Mason Rudolph Fall Preview was the roughest one yet for Florida.
The No. 16 Gators went 18-over on Sunday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., finishing in 13th place at 905 (303-296-306, +41).
UCLA held on to win the tournament with a team score of 873 (296-283-294, +9). Alabama finished in second place six shots back, while Arizona State ended in fifth at 20-over.
“We gave a lot of shots away on the green. That’s the kind of stuff that we could control to a large majority,” coach Jan Dowling said. “The best way to explain it is probably working a little bit on our mentality. Sometimes you try to force it.”
Despite a disappointing finish, Dowling said she is happy her team gained some experience from playing on the Legends Club course.
“We got to see a course that we’re going to be playing [the NCAA Championships] on [in May],” she said. “We’re going to reflect, learn and get ourselves ready for the rest of the season. Then we’ll know what to expect when we come back for the national championships.”
Leading Florida was senior Evan Jensen, who shot 3-over for the second straight round. After bogeying four of her first nine holes, she rebounded with two birdies against only one bogey on her back nine.
Freshman Camilla Hedberg and junior Mia Piccio each shot 4-over rounds with one birdie and five bogeys Sunday.
Hedberg finished tied for 22nd individually, while Piccio tied for 31st.
Duke’s Lindy Duncan and Alabama’s Jennifer Kirby finished tied with the top individual score at 4-under par.
For the tournament, Florida made 23 birdies against 70 bogeys and eight double bogeys.
The Gators will have about about a month off to regroup and practice until their next tournament at the SEC/PAC 12 Challenge at the Holston Hills Country Club hosted by Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., from Oct. 21-23.
Dowling emphasized the importance of the Gators improving their short game during the long break.
“It’s pretty obvious, our short game is something we really need to work on,” she said. “This course exposed something we need to get better at.”
