Coming off two straight tournament wins to end the 2026 regular season, No. 3 Florida women’s golf is red hot. The winning run started after the Gators placed sixth in the Moon Golf Invitational, which was their first finish outside the top five since 2024.
Florida highlights
The Gators turned the tide by breaking records in their annual home tournament, the Gators Invitational.
First, the Orange and Blue set a program-low tournament score of 820 (-20). Even after going 271 (-9) in Round 1, they still were only four strokes clear of Virginia. Then, Paula Francisco came guns ablazing, making sure there was no doubt the Gators would win.
The junior and No. 11 nationally ranked golfer not only went a combined 8-under-par in the final two rounds, but she also won her first collegiate tournament and set the Gators Invitational record with a 200 (-10).
Weeks later, UF won the Clemson Invitational with an 847 (-17). Once again, Francisco was elite. The Spaniard shot her sixth consecutive round under par, ending with a 207 (-9). She ended the season as the top performer for the Gators with a stroke average of 70.7 and 13 under-par rounds, including 11 this spring.
Megan Propeck placed close behind with a 71.6 stroke average. The graduate student won the OU Intercollegiate back in October, sporting an 839 (-1), finishing as the only golfer under par. Overall, she had nine rounds under par, accumulating two at the Clemson Invitational.
Siuue Wu had a very promising spring, posting a 72.0 season stroke average. All four of her under-par rounds came in 2026. The sophomore’s best performance came in UF’s victory at the Sea Best Invitational, where she scored 207 (-9). She was also instrumental in the Gators Invitational, posting a team-best 65 (-5) in Round 1, setting her own career-low round. There, the Hong Kong native finished in a season-high second place.
Opposing teams and players to watch
Florida will not have an easy time in the SEC Championship, as nine other teams are ranked in the top 25 and four others in the top 10. Right below the Gators is No. 4 Texas A&M, which ended the season on a rough note, finishing 864 (+24) at the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate Invitational.
Furthermore, three of the top five golfers are in the conference.
Arkansas’ Marie Jose Marin is ranked No. 1 in the country, accumulating an average of 83.49 points. She also won the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, with an 850 (-14). The junior finished under par in eight of nine tournaments in the 2025-26 season, winning the Clemson Invitational.
No. 2 Farah O’Keefe ended with an 82.13 for the Longhorns. She did not finish over par in any of the nine tournaments she participated in. The junior won three tournaments, including three this spring.
Mississippi State’s Avery Weed placed fourth, accumulating a 75.09. She was the best golfer in the fall, with four under-par rounds. However, the junior couldn’t sustain the stellar play, as she posted three over-par rounds in 2026 and no top 10 finishes.
Coming soon
Ultimately, the Gators aim to win their 10th SEC Championship and first since 2017.
They will travel a few hours south to Belleair for the five-day SEC Championship from Friday to Tuesday. It will be held at Pelican Golf Club with a start time of 8 a.m on Friday.
Contact Colby Kistner at ckistner@alligator.org. Follow him on X @colbykistner22.
Colby is a junior sports journalism student in his first semester with the Alligator covering golf. He has experience covering Buchholz and Santa Fe High School sports. He also worked in UF's innovation center where he wrote and created radio content for WRUF. He is an avid hockey fan with his teams being the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers. He is looking to minor in business administration.
