The Florida Gators women’s golf team’s regular season was defined by tournament wins and top-five finishes. UF carried itself with one-on-one victories over top-ranked teams in the country. However, Florida finished seventh in the 12-team NCAA Regional and failed to advance in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
No. 15 Florida placed 13th in the SEC tournament and failed to claim the top-8 mark to qualify for match play in the quarterfinals.
On the NCAA Division I Selection Show on April 24, it was announced Florida qualified for the three-round East Lansing NCAA Regional as a No. 3-seed. A notable regular season resumè definitively earned it a spot in postseason play.
The Gators needed to place among the top five teams in the East Lansing Regional. Though, after three rounds of play, Florida’s season came to an end. While the Gators placed in the top-five in the first two rounds, they scored 7-over in round three and missed an opportunity to advance to the NCAA championship.
In the first round, fifth-year Jackie Lucena led the Gators to a strong start in the front nine. She earned back-to-back birdies on holes four and five to earn a tie for individual lead of 2-under through five.
Lucena’s success continued with a birdie on eight, and she completed a bogeyless front nine. By the time holes one through nine came to an end for UF, the Gators were in second on the leaderboard trailing to No. 1-seed Southern California.
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Florida lost some of its rhythm in the back nine throughout the first round while accumulating 10 bogeys compared to its six in the front. Lucena had three straight bogeys on holes 13-15 and did not score under par on any holes. She ended the round making par with 72 strokes.
Fifth-year Marina Escobar recorded three bogeys between holes 10 and 14 to finish the round 6-over 72.
The Gators fell from second to sixth by the time holes 12-15 were being played. The consistent play of senior Maisie Filler and All-SEC freshman Inès Archer pushed Florida back into the top-five.
No. 9-ranked Filler recorded a significant birdie on hole 17 to extend Florida’s lead over fifth-place Denver (2-over 290) to three points. Archer had a team-leading four birdies for the round with only one bogey in the back nine. Both Filler and Archer concluded the day in 12th place at 1-under 71.
Florida finished round one in fourth place at 1-under 286.
Unlike round one, Florida started slowly in round two. But it didn’t last long.
All teams competing began round two on holes 10 through 18 and concluded the day on holes one through nine.
An early turning point in round two occurred during hole five, when four of five Gators birdied.
Three Gators recorded two birdies within the first seven holes, and the team posted eight birdies between holes 10-18. Florida, much like in round one, soared to second place on the team leaderboard on the early holes.
The Gators got off to a slow start in the early going in round two, collecting five bogeys and just one birdie. Florida’s score on the leaderboard increased from 1-under to 1-over, dropping it to fourth place and only one point ahead of fifth-place Michigan State.
Florida needed golfers to step up if they wanted to keep its season alive. Freshmen Sophie Stevens and Archer were up to the task.
Stevens replaced Escobar in the lineup for round two. Escobar made an immediate impact and played a key role in the Gators’ strong round-two finish with a team-leading five birdies.
After a bogey on hole one, she went bogeyless and added three birdies and five pars on holes two through nine. She made par and scored 2-under on holes one through nine.
In round two, Archer broke into the top five with a bogey-free performance on her birthday. She ended the day 2-under 70 with two birdies on the last five holes and parred the rest, marking one of her best rounds of her season.
Filler held her spot in the top 15 with a 1-over 73 line. After a hole 11 double-bogey, she regrouped and sank two birdies on holes 13 and 16. Fillerended the day at T14.
Lucena and Francisco scored 2-over with two and three birdies on the day, respectively.
Florida finished 1-over 289 in round two, good for fifth place and an even overall score heading into round three with the season on the line.
The Gators were in fourth place after completing all holes, but six other teams continued play.
With an NCAA championship berth on the horizon, Stevens caught fire early, opening the scoring in round three with a birdie on hole 10. Filler and Archer got off to solid starts, sinking a pair of birdies on hole one, advancing the Gators to second place with a 4-under score.
Stevens holed an eagle on hole 13 and a birdie on 14, bumping Florida to 5-under and four strokes ahead of MSU for third place.
A Francisco birdie on hole 14 pushed Florida into the top three at 6-under. The Gators seemed primed to advance as one of the top five teams in the regional.
Moreover, Stevens and Filler had their best nine holes of the tournament and made the turn 3-under and 4-under. Filler went bogey-free through holes 10-18 with four birdies. Filler led UF with four birdies in round three.
Florida’s struggles, however, began toward the end of the first nine holes and eventually cost them an appearance in the NCAA championship.
Five team-bogeys through holes 16-18 along with a Francisco triple-bogey on hole one quickly dropped the Gators to fifth place by the turn.
Three bogeys after the turn knocked Florida out of the top five. Archer then double bogeyed on hole one, putting the Gators in seventh place.
Florida had one final chance to break back into the top five, but it lost its momentum toward the end of the back nine with six team bogeys and a double-bogey.
The Gators’ chances at a top-five finish vanished as Oklahoma St. advanced to second (-4), and Pepperdine held a 1-under score, good for fifth.
Florida finished round three with a tournament-high 7-over 295, resulting in the Gators’ seventh-place finish in the NCAA regional. Florida missed the cut by eight strokes.
Filler’s solid performance was good for 10th on the individual leaderboard with a score of 4-under.
Contact Aiden Wacksman at aidenwacksman@go.sfcollege.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @aidenwacksman.
