No. 3 Gators women’s golf experienced the worst words in golf Wednesday: Your tee time has been canceled. After two rounds at The Ally in West Point, Mississippi, the final round was called off due to illness among the competing teams.
Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan reported that at least 13 of the 17 teams were impacted, facing symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and other issues. Players and coaches were both impacted by the mystery illness.
As a result, the final standings were determined by the first two rounds alone, where Florida finished in a tie for fourth place after its performance on Monday and Tuesday. The Gators were 10 strokes back from first-place Oklahoma State and tied with Kentucky, who finished at +5.
Three Gators made the top-25 in the individual standings. Addison Klonowski finished with a +1 through 36 holes in a tie for 11th while Jessica Guiser ended in a tie for 17th at +2 and Sophia Dyer tied for 23rd at +3.
Paula Francisco, who finished first in the Mason Rudolph Championship, slid to a tie for 45th at The Ally, going 6-over. Below her, Katelyn Huber, who placed second at the Mason Rudolph Championship, landed in a tie for 58th place, shooting 9-over.
Huber had the team-best round, shooting -1 in the first, but went 10-over in the second to plummet in the standings.
It was a relatively disappointing two days of golf for Florida, as not a single player shot below par through 36 holes. However, the Gators didn’t get a chance to capitalize on the improvement from Day 1 to Day 2. After Round 1, the Gators were in sixth place but leapt to a tie for fourth after Round 2, hoping that momentum would carry into day three.
Florida will eye a chance to respond Oct. 16-18 at the Tar Heel Invitational for the last tournament of the fall season. The Gators swept both the team and individual titles at the tournament hosted by the North Carolina Tar Heels back in 2023.
Contact Bob Sager at bsager@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @bobsager808.
