Florida hoped to build its lead Tuesday, but black numbers tarnished a golden opportunity.
In the second round of the Betsy Rawls Invitational in Austin, Texas, the No. 10 Gators shot 16-over to bring their two-day total to 589 (285-304, +13).
The team fell to second place, and trails host Texas by eight shots heading into today’s final round. Tulsa sits in third 13 strokes back.
“This wasn’t the round we were looking for,” coach Jan Dowling said. “However, we’ve got a very legitimate shot at winning a golf tournament, and that’s all you can ask for when you tee it up in a tournament every time you play. We’re really excited about [today] and we’re going to react like champions.”
For the day, Florida had nine double bogeys, a high number that Dowling attributed to her team intensifying its own errors.
“It’s a difficult course, and we got ourselves in trouble a little bit,” she said. “But I think those double bogeys came from compounding the mistakes. We’re going to learn from it, and hopefully it’s going to be better [today].”
Junior Mia Piccio followed up her solid first round with another stellar performance Tuesday, shooting a 2-under 70. After double-bogeying her first hole, Piccio rebounded with five birdies and an eagle against three bogeys.
“I’m very proud of her,” Dowling said. “She started out with a double bogey, and she never lost confidence in herself that she would get it back. That’s shows a lot of maturity and a lot of patience, and she did it.”
Although senior Evan Jensen played magnificently in her first round Monday, that wasn’t the case Tuesday. While Jensen tallied an eagle on the par-5 fifth, she finished her final three holes with two bogeys and a double bogey for a 7-over 79.
Piccio (-3) sits atop the leaderboard, while Jensen (+3), the overall individual leader after Day 1, slid to a seven-way tie for 13th. Piccio leads the field by two strokes.
Junior Isabelle Lendl finished her day 5-over. After recording three double bogeys, senior Andrea Watts shot a 6-over 78.
Florida’s freshmen also had a rough time on Tuesday. Camilla Hedberg went 7-over, while Lena Weichselgartner, competing as an individual, carded a 5-over 77 to bring her two-day total to 155 (+11).
Heading into the final round today, Dowling said the team isn’t dwelling on the errors.
“[Tuesday’s] round is over. There’s nothing we can do about it now except react the right way,” she said. “We can either be annoyed or upset about it or we can turn around and get ready for [today]. That’s the plan.”
UF golfer Mia Piccio carries her bag at the Betsy Rawls Invitational on Nov. 2, 2011. Piccio carded a 73 (+1) in Florida's first round at the NCAA Championships on Tuesday at the UGA Golf Course.
