PALOS VERDES, Calif. – The University of Florida women’s golf team is in seventh place after the second round of the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge. The Gators tallied a team score of 609 (305-304, +41).
“I definitely think today was an easier day to score,” Florida Head Coach Jan Dowling said. “There was not much wind and there was a misty rain in the morning that softened the greens and slowed them down a little bit.
“Tomorrow we need more toughness, more patience,” Dowling continued. “A lot of the players feel like their games are on the brink of being pretty darned good. We need to stay patient.”
The Gators were led by sophomore Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines) for the second consecutive day. The Philippines native finished the afternoon tied for seventh place overall after shooting an one-over 72 for a total score of 146 (74-72, +4). Piccio got off to a rough start and was three-over through three. However, she tallied consecutive birdies on No. 5 and No. 6 before a bogey on No. 9 had her at two-over heading to the back nine. Another birdie on 11 took her to one-over and she shot par the remainder of the way. Piccio has played consistent golf all over the course. She currently is tied for eighth in par-4 scoring (+3 in 22 holes),12th in par-3 scoring (+2 in eight holes) and tied for 13th in par-5 scoring (-1 in six holes).
“She reacted very well,” Dowling said. “She did not let being three-over par through the first three holes bother her. She is hitting the ball very solid and is staying patient out there on a difficult golf course. She has her confidence soaring and I am excited to watch her play tomorrow.”
Andrea Watts (Bradenton, Fla.) bettered her score by four strokes from the opening round, firing a 75 (+4). A double bogey on No. 3 put her two-over but she recovered with birdies on the sixth and seventh holes to get to even par at the turn. Another double bogey at 10 cost her two strokes but she completed the last eight holes at two-over and currently has an overall total of 154 (+12).
“She was pretty consistent today and it was too bad that she had two doubles (bogeys),” Dowling said of Watts. “She is learning to eliminate the bigger mistakes. She definitely has the opportunity to make a lot of pars. That is part of her game. If she gets her putter hot, she can rattle off some birdies too.”
Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) overcame a few hiccups to post a 78 (+7), giving her a 36-hole score of 155 (77-78, +13). Jensen began her round with a double bogey on No. 2 and after two pars, a triple bogey on No. 5. On the par-4 6th, she holed out for an eagle—the second eagle recorded by a Gator this season and third in the first two rounds of this tournament—and nearly matched that feat on the next hole, eventually taking advantage of the close approach to birdie.
Jensen was three-over for the day at the turn and then played the back nine at four-over to put her in a tie for 42nd overall. To this point, Jensen is tied for 16th in par-4 scoring (+4 in 22 holes).
Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Fla.) improved her score by a stroke from yesterday’s round as she carded a nine-over 80. Her total score of 156 (76-80, +14) tied her for 44th.After beginning the round with a par, Yadloczky went bogey-double bogey-bogey before making a birdie at the par-5 5th. The Gator senior bogeyed the ninth and 10th holes and then sandwiched two double bogeys around a birdie on 12 before finishing solidly, making par in four of her final five holes along with one bogey. Yadloczky has taken advantage of the par-5’s over the last two days, matching teammate Piccio with a one-under on the six holes.
Isabelle Lendl (Goshen, Conn.) finished the day in a tie for 70th place after shooting a eight-over 79, giving her a cumulative score of 157 (78-79,+15) . She had one birdie, nine pars and six bogeys along with a double bogey on the day.
Megan Pak (Bradenton, Fla.) moved up eight spots on the leaderboard after posting a 78 (+7) Tuesday—a six stroke improvement over yesterday’s first round. The sophomore was able to steer clear of big numbers with just one double bogey on the day while registering 12 pars, including five straight to conclude her day.
UCLA leads by two strokes entering Wednesday’s final round with a team score of 583 (296-287,+15).
The entire 13-team field will have a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. ET for the final round. Florida is paired with Furman and Ohio State and will begin play on holes 8 through 11.
