The Gators women’s golf team was housed by a local family — the Bryants — during the second annual Clemson Invitational over the weekend. However, that was the extent of all hospitality expressed toward UF during its stay.
The Gators were unceremoniously dropped from a tie for second into sole possession of third place during the final round of the competition when FSU pounced to take both the tournament and Florida’s reigning-champion status.
That’s in the past, though, and coach Emily Glaser is not one to dwell on what’s already happened unless it’s being used as a learning experience.
“I’m pleased that we had those experiences,” Glaser said at a press conference Monday morning. “I think at this point, the learning that we’re doing is going to serve us well in the postseason just as much as the winning is.”
This process of doing, then learning, then doing again has been the focal point to the Gators’ success this year, and Glaser has never been one to shy away from talking about the weaknesses of her team. In the aftermath of the past weekend, things were no different for the fifth-year coach.
“(Sunday), probably just a few too many mistakes that kept us from catching Florida State,” Glaser said.
“We had to count a couple doubles (double bogeys) in our team score. I know we had a couple of three-putts coming down the stretch. Just some little things that potentially got a little ahead of ourselves coming in, and it cost us the tournament.”
One of the brighter spots for the Gators in Sunset, South Carolina, was senior Maria Torres, who posted a 7 under for the tournament, good enough for a tie for second among all golfers.
The Puerto Rico native has been the workhorse for the Gators this Spring, placing in the top 10 in all but one tournament and achieving a top-two finish for the third consecutive tournament after winning at the Briar’s Creek Invitational and the SunTrust Gator Invitational.
“Just some fantastic play in the past month,” Glaser said of her first-ever recruit at UF. “Really putting it together… just some consistent play that we need going into the postseason.”
Just because the Gators can afford to look forward to the postseason does not mean, however, that they can let up their efforts. UF goes into the SEC Championship as one of five teams in the top 15, with Alabama taking over the No. 1 spot in the nation from Stanford in the past week.
Glaser said that she intends to emphasize the lessons learned from the Clemson Invitational to prepare her players.
“We know that that experience is invaluable,” Glaser said. “When we get to the SEC Championship...it’s going to be a very similar type of feeling. I’m really looking to see how we learn from (Sunday).”
Contact Morgan McMullen at mmcmullen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @morganmcmuffin.
Maria Torres watches her shot during the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville.
