No. 7 Florida women’s golf eyed a second-straight sweep after two rounds of the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship Saturday, but collapsed Sunday with a plus-7 Round 3 performance. The rough third-round showing put the Gators one stroke behind first-place Mississippi State.
It was a dominant two-round stretch for the Gators, who had a tournament-low minus-6 Round 1 and a second-lowest Round 2 at minus-2. The struggle-filled Round 3 brought the Gators to a minus-1 finish, tied with Arizona State.
The Gators were tied with Mississippi State until the final hole, when both teams were sitting at minus-2. Paula Francisco, who had been the star of the weekend, bogeyed the last hole to slip Florida one spot down in the team rankings.
But Francisco was still the best player in the tournament, shooting six-under through 54 holes of play and securing first on the individual leaderboard. She was followed by fellow Gator Katelyn Huber, who ended in a three-way tie for second.
Francisco had an astonishing performance through the first two rounds, going four-under in the first and three-under in the second. On the senior’s first hole of the tournament, she notched an eagle on a 392-yard par-four. But the highlight of the tournament came in the second round, when Francisco eagled the 17th hole, a 510-yard par-five, and birdied the 18th. This is Francisco’s third collegiate victory, adding to her resume of SEC Championship and Gators Invitational titles.
Huber was the only Gator to not shoot over in the third round. She broke even, but a double bogey on the 12th hole Sunday only added to the day-three collapse for Florida. Huber tallied her second consecutive runner-up finish and eighth top-10 finish of her 14-tournament career.
Jessica Guiser (T22) had an atypical performance in her second outing of the season, going plus-4 overall and never producing a below-par round. Guiser came off an individual win and career low at the Cougar Classic Sept. 8, but failed to carry the momentum into Franklin, Tennessee.
The Vanderbilt Legends Club proved difficult for Florida and the rest of the field. Out of the 15 teams participating, Florida was one of only three to shoot under. Vanderbilt, the host of the tournament, was closest to joining that club with a plus-one finish, but every other team shot plus-10 or worse.
Addison Klonowski finished tied for 39th, shooting plus-eight on the weekend. Elaine Widjaja finished tied for 58th at plus-13, and Perla Sól Sigurbrandsdóttir finished tied for 46th as an individual in her collegiate debut.
Florida will have time to regroup before its next tournament, the Tar Heel Invitational, which begins Oct. 16. The event at The UNC Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will be Florida’s last tournament before it closes the fall season at The Ally, hosted by Mississippi State in West Point.
Contact Bob Sager at bsager@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @bobsager808.
