Instead of climbing the leaderboard Saturday, Florida remained stagnant.
The No. 10 UF women’s golf team went 11-over at the second round of the SEC/PAC-12 Challenge in Knoxville, Tenn., dropping a spot to tie with Georgia for 10th place. The Gators’ two-round score is 597 (298-299, +21).
Alabama (-3) remains in first-place, while UCLA trails by five shots.
Coach Jan Dowling said she thought Florida’s play was mediocre.
“There were some good things that happened, but I definitely feel like our team left some shots out there,” she said. “We’re looking forward to getting out there tomorrow; playing better, and hopefully we’ve saved our best round for last.”
While Camilla Hedberg has been spectacular all season, Saturday was not the case. Hedberg, a freshman, (+9) struggled mightily, posting her worst round of her year after tallying only one birdie against eight bogeys.
Hedberg also made a double bogey on her final hole.
“She is human,” Dowling said. “This just wasn’t her day. [Hedberg’s] ball-striking wasn’t that great and it caused her some problems. It’s going to happen every once in a while.”
Junior Mia Piccio, on the other hand, played steadily and went even-par after birdying two of her opening three holes.
“The key word for her game is ‘consistency,’” Dowling said of Piccio. “I’m excited to see her play tomorrow.”
Another player who stepped up for Florida was senior Evan Jensen, who carded a 1-over 73 after firing the team’s first eagle of the tournament.
Dowling said Jensen is the prime example of the Gators’ ability to rebound from a bad round.
“We know we can put it together [today] and get some confidence for our final tournament,” Dowling said. “We’re not here to finish in the top 10. We’re here to contend for a tournament win.”
Men’s golf to compete at Isleworth: Following their first tournament win of the season at The Bake at the Kiawah Island Ocean Course, the Gators will look to end their fall season on a high note at the three-day Isleworth Collegiate Invitational in Windemere.
The 12-team field set to play on the par-72, 7,544 yard Isleworth Golf and Country Club will include seven ranked teams, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.
Junior T.J. Vogel will be No. 1 in the rotation, with juniors Tyler McCumber and Tommy Mou, and freshmen J.D. Tomlinson and Eric Banks rounding out the remainder of the lineup.
At last week’s event, McCumber and Vogel came in second and tied for third, respectively, while four Gators finished inside the top 20.
