The Florida women’s golf team is in third place after the first round of the Gators Invitational. The Gators shot a collective 7-over-par and are four strokes behind the leading UCF Knights.
Annabell Fuller led UF Sunday. The sophomore shot a blazing 3-under-par 67 and tied her collegiate low, which she set last week at the Moon Golf Invitational. Fuller was even through the opening nine holes but flipped the switch on the back half and knocked in three birdies. She leads the field and holds a one-stroke lead over UCF’s Ana Laura Collado.
Senior Addie Baggarly and freshman Maisie Filler sit right outside the top-20 individually after shooting 3-over-par. They are tied for 21st.
Marina Escobar came in one stroke behind Baggarly and Filler. The sophomore shot a 4-over-par 74 Sunday but finished off the round with a birdie. She is tied for 33rd.Junior Jenny Kim is in a tie for 40th after shooting 5-over-par.
The Gators had the best average on par-5s Sunday, shooting four-under-par and averaging 4.73 strokes per hole. They carded the second most birdies as a team with 12 and the third most pars with 55.
As an individual, Fuller tied for the best average on the par-5s and shot 4.33 strokes per hole. Baggarly tied for the best average on the par-3s and averaged 2.33 strokes per hole.
Florida also had five individual golfers out on the course Sunday, meaning their scores didn’t count toward Florida’s team score, but they still competed in the individual tournament. Junior Clara Manzalini led the way for these players and shot 2-over-par. She had a tournament-high 14 pars in the opening round and is tied for 12th.
UF will tee off bright and early Monday at 8:30 a.m. Due to inclement weather, the tournament will have a shotgun start, meaning there will be players on all 18 holes. The Gators will start on holes one through four. Live updates will be provided at Golfstat.com.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Michael_Hull33
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
