BRYAN, Texas – The University of Florida women’s golf team is currently tied for eighth place although the team was unable to complete its third round Friday after enduring an hour and 50 minute lightning delay just before the midway point of its round. Play was suspended due to darkness shortly after 8 p.m. local time (CST). Senior Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Fla.) and sophomore Isabelle Lendl (Goshen, Conn.) were able to complete the full 18 holes. The three remaining members of Florida’s lineup will return to Traditions Club to finish the third round at 7:30 a.m. local time (8:30 ET) on Saturday. Sophomore Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines) will play Nos. 7, 8 and 9, junior Andrea Watts (Bradenton, Fla.) has Nos. 8 and 9 left and junior Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) only needs to finish No. 9.
Florida was tied for third with LSU early but encountered some struggles as the day progressed.
“It was a very challenging day with the wind and with the lightning delay,” head coach Jan Dowling said. “We handled it decently. We definitely have a good chance for a great finish tomorrow. The name of the game for this tournament in particular with the conditions and the way the golf course is set up, is just handling adversity really well. We are going to keep stressing that for tomorrow. We’re definitely excited to get out there tomorrow and see what we can do. Our goal is to stick to our game plan and shoot the lowest possible score we can tomorrow.”
Watts was two-over through 16 before the darkness halted play and is tied for 16th, lurking three shots out of the top 10. She is two pars away from notching her fifth consecutive round of 74 or lower. She birdied her first hole – the par-5 10th into the wind – to move to one-over for the tournament.
“I hit a great tee shot, then laid up to about 100 yards,” Watts described. “The pin was in a pretty reachable spot so I went for it, hit it to about eight feet and made the putt.”
A double bogey on 13 and a bogey on 17 dropped her to two-over for the day before the stoppage. When play resumed, the junior rattled off eight straight pars before the round was cut short.
“The delay actually helped I think,” Watts divulged. “We got a chance to warm up for a few minutes before we went back out and since I wasn’t hitting it that well today, hitting a few balls on the range helped me get my confidence back for the rest of the round.
“I really focused on my routine and picking smart targets. I played conservative and I think I judged the wind pretty accurately which is really important out here. My putting speed was really good as well. I felt like I could two-putt from anywhere, which is saying a lot because these greens are very undulated.”
Piccio was steady on the back nine, registering six pars in a row to open her round before a bogey on 16. She responded with a birdie on 18 to make the turn at even but bogeyed three of her final four holes before play was suspended. She remained the Gator closest to the top of the leaderboard, currently tied for 10th, and has been able to avoid anything worse than a bogey in her first 51 holes thus far.
Jensen began the afternoon with four pars and after bogeys on 14 and 17, birdied 18 for the second consecutive day. She had a three-hole blip on the front nine but was four-over through17 when the sky was deemed too dark to continue.
“I’m excited for her tomorrow because she really is hitting the ball very solid,” Dowling said. “She’s swinging great. I think she’s due for a great round of golf. She’s just had a couple holes that have held her back but I think she’s ready to shoot a low number so it’s going to be exciting to watch her play tomorrow.”
Lendl was three-over through nine and then made her lone birdie of the afternoon on the par-4 1st, right after taking the course following the weather interruption. She found difficulty beginning on No. 3, making three straight bogeys followed by a double bogey, and completed her round with a 79 (+7).
Yadloczky got off to a solid start, narrowly missing birdie putts on 12 and 13 before four bogeys had her four-over at the turn. She also played the front nine at four-over, ending her round with an 80 (+8).
UCLA remains the team leader and carries a six-stroke advantage into the final day of competition. Tiffany Lua of UCLA is atop the individual leaderboard at five-under, three strokes ahead of her two nearest challengers.
As previously mentioned, Jensen, Watts and Piccio will conclude their respective third rounds at 8:30 p.m ET. Final round pairings will be announced at the conclusion of the third round.
Team Scores After Round 3
| Place | School | To Par | Thru | 1 | 2 | 3 | Score |
| 1. | UCLA | +13 | 14-17 | 289 | 295 | - | 584 |
| 2. | Purdue | +19 | 14-17 | 292 | 295 | - | 587 |
| T3. | LSU | +26 | 14-17 | 292 | 296 | - | 588 |
| T3. | Virginia | +26 | F | 291 | 300 | 299 | 890 |
| 5. | Texas A&M | +27 | F | 295 | 294 | 302 | 891 |
| T6. | Vanderbilt | +31 | F | 297 | 294 | 304 | 895 |
| T6. | North Carolina | +31 | F | 305 | 293 | 297 | 895 |
| T8. | Southern California | +32 | F | 302 | 302 | 292 | 896 |
| T8. | Florida | +32 | 15-18 | 294 | 298 | - | 592 |
| 10. | Arkansas | +33 | F | 305 | 296 | 296 | 897 |
| 11. | Tennessee | +36 | 15-18 | 299 | 299 | - | 598 |
| 12. | Alabama | +37 | F | 301 | 303 | 297 | 901 |
| 13. | California | +39 | 15-18 | 306 | 292 | - | 598 |
| 14. | Arizona | +40 | F | 304 | 295 | 305 | 904 |
| T15. | Minnesota | +42 | F | 305 | 294 | 307 | 906 |
| T15. | Wake Forest | +42 | F | 298 | 307 | 301 | 906 |
| 17. | Arizona State | +43 | F | 296 | 303 | 308 | 907 |
| 18. | South Carolina | +51 | F | 302 | 315 | 298 | 915 |
| T19. | Stanford | +52 | F | 308 | 305 | 303 | 916 |
| T19. | Washington | +52 | F | 312 | 307 | 297 | 916 |
| T19. | Ohio State | +52 | F | 303 | 315 | 298 | 916 |
| 22. | Coastal Carolina | +58 | F | 322 | 302 | 298 | 922 |
| T23. | UC Davis | +61 | F | 313 | 305 | 307 | 925 |
| T23. | Notre Dame | +61 | F | 308 | 310 | 307 | 925 |
Individual Top 10 Through Round 3
| Place | Player (School) | To Par | Thru | 1 | 2 | 3 | Score |
| 1. | Tiffany Lua (UCLA) | -5 | 14 | 71 | 71 | - | 142 |
| T2. | Marta Silva Zamora (Georgia)* | -2 | F | 71 | 71 | 72 | 214 |
| T2. | Austin Ernst (LSU) | -2 | 14 | 72 | 66 | - | 138 |
| 4. | Caroline Powers (Michigan State)* | -1 | F | 70 | 76 | 69 | 215 |
| T5. | Brittany Altomare (Virginia) | E | F | 69 | 75 | 72 | 216 |
| T5. | Amy Anderson (North Dakota State)* | E | F | 74 | 72 | 70 | 216 |
| T5. | Lindy Duncan (Duke)* | E | F | 72 | 74 | 70 | 216 |
| T5. | Kelli Shean (Arkansas) | E | F | 75 | 70 | 71 | 216 |
| T5. | Laura Gonzalez (Purdue) | E | 15 | 74 | 71 | - | 145 |
| T10. | Natalie Sheary (Wake Forest) | +1 | F | 72 | 74 | 71 | 217 |
| T10. | Mia Piccio (Florida) | +1 | 15 | 72 | 70 | - | 142 |
*Played as an individual
Florida Results Through Round 3
| Place | Player | To Par | Thru | 1 | 2 | 3 | Score |
| T10. | Mia Piccio | +1 | 15 | 72 | 70 | - | 142 |
| T16. | Andrea Watts | +4 | 16 | 72 | 74 | - | 146 |
| T48. | Evan Jensen | +10 | 17 | 76 | 74 | - | 150 |
| T103. | Isabelle Lendl | +20 | F | 74 | 83 | 79 | 236 |
| T112. | Jessica Yadloczky | +25 | F | 81 | 80 | 80 | 241 |
