The Gators operated with a marathon mindset on Monday.
With potential thunderstorms projected to touch down in New Orleans on Tuesday, UF played 36 holes in under 10 hours to close out the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship in second place.
Junior Taylor Tomlinson played the hero’s role in the third and deciding round, finishing the back nine with three birdies and an eagle to end her tournament at 8 over.
But it wasn’t enough as UF dropped the tournament to Stanford, which finished 1 under, by 11 strokes.
Contrary to their two previous tournaments, the Gators started off with gusto in the first round, draining six birdies as a team on the first four holes. However, only Grassel and Tomlinson took advantage. Nobody besides that pair shot below par in either of the subsequent rounds.
“I thought that we were a little careless (Sunday) at times,” coach Emily Glaser said in a release after the first round. “We didn’t pay attention to some of the small details that it takes to play a great team round.”
Kelly Grassel, a senior from Chesterton, Indiana, shot a team-best 1 under (215) with the help of a strong second round that featured a bogey-free 18 holes complimented by three birdies.
Fellow senior Maria Torres finished the middle 18 at even par with three successive birdies on the back nine. A 1-over par in the third round dropped Torres to ninth among all golfers, ending her tournament at even par.
Tomlinson, senior Karolina Vlckova and freshman Marta Perez all tied for 32nd overall in the tournament at 8 over (224). Vlckova, mirroring the success of Torres and Grassel, also performed well in the second round, sandwiching a late bogie with birdies on 16 and 18 to end the round at 3 over and lowering her score by a stroke in the process.
But as well as the Gators swung iron in the second round, they couldn’t overcome Stanford.
“The team isn’t satisfied with second, and I love that,” Glaser said in a release. “I know that we are a great team. This group is really into the process of getting better every day and figuring out how we continue to do that.”
The Gators have a little over two weeks to prepare for their home tournament, the SunTrust Gator Invitational, on March 11 and 12.
“It will be nice to have some time to work at home before the Gator Invite,” Glaser said, “and prepare for all the excitement and emotions that that week brings.”
Contact Morgan McMullen at mmcmullen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @morganmcmuffin.
Taylor Tomlinson putts during the 2015 SunTrust Gator Invitational at UF's Mark Bostick Golf Course.
