Florida Gators
Auburn Derby
Lady Gators Sit in Eighth After Round One of Auburn Derby
Friday, November 4, 2005 | Women's Golf
The No. 21 Florida women's golf team shot a 302 (+14) in round one of the Auburn Derby in Auburn, Ala., at the par 72, 6,121-yard Auburn University Club. Two Lady Gators highlight the individual finishers with a place in the top 20, while the team closed out the first day in eighth place out of 17 teams.
Sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) overcame a triple-bogey on the third hole to pace the Orange and Blue in round one, finishing the day with a 74 (+2), to sit in a tie for 13th-place. Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) also notched a top-20 finish, as she shot a 75 (+3) on the day to finish in a tie for 19th. Head coach Jill Briles-Hinton was especially pleased with Myers' play in round one.
“Whitney really came through for us today,” said Briles-Hinton. “She ended up having a great day after a tough start. That's what we're going to need from someone in every round to move up in this tournament.”
Sophomore Tiffany Chudy (Miramar) shot a -1 after starting on the back nine, but a +5 on the front gave her a 76 (+4) for the day, good for a tie in 34th place. Freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) finished at +5 with a 77 in round one, to sit in a tie for 45th-place.
Redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) rounded out the Lady Gator five with a 79 on the day to finish at +7, and in a tie for 56th, while sophomore Eleanor Tucker (Wilson, N.C.), who is competing in the tourney as an individual, notched an 87 to sit in a tie for 85th. Briles-Hinton did not feel the team played up to its potential in round one.
“Today was another mediocre day for us,” said Briles-Hinton. “This course is harder than last week, so it's a little encouraging to see a better score than we started out with in our last tournament. We're only nine back from the leader at this point, if we can stay positive and work hard in the next two rounds we can improve.”
The Lady Gators are one of six teams in the 17-squad field ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 25. Tournament host No.7 Auburn leads after round one of the Derby with a 291, while No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 Duke sit in a tie for second with a 294 on the day. No. 13 Virginia and No. 14 Tennessee each finished with a 297 to post fourth-place day one finishes.
Auburn's Maria Martinez currently leads the 90-competitor field in first-place after shooting a 3-under 69 in round one. Briles-Hinton noted putting as the main area the Lady Gators need to focus on to improve in the next two rounds.
“Putting is important on this course,” said Briles-Hinton. “The Bermuda grass they use for the greens is dormant right now, so essentially everyone is putting on roots, and that makes the greens very fast. In order to get birdies the ball has to be positioned in just the right place on the green, and if we can do that we'll shoot better tomorrow.”
Action continues at the Auburn University Club Saturday morning, when the Lady Gators and the rest of the field will hit the course for the second 18 holes of the tourney with an 8:30 a.m. shot-gun start. Up-to-the-minute results will be available via live scoring at www.golfstat.com, and a round recap and full results will be available at the conclusion of the day at www.gatorzone.com.
Team Results
| Place | Team | First Round | Under/Over Par |
| 1. | Auburn | 291 | +3 |
| T2. | Georgia | 294 | +6 |
| T2. | Duke | 294 | +6 |
| T4. | Virginia | 297 | +9 |
| T4. | Tennessee | 297 | +9 |
| 6. | Mississippi | 300 | +12 |
| 7. | South Carolina | 301 | +13 |
| 8. | FLORIDA | 302 | +14 |
| 9. | Florida State | 303 | +15 |
| T10. | Louisiana State | 308 | +20 |
| T10. | Texas | 308 | +20 |
| 12. | Alabama | 310 | +22 |
| 13. | North Carolina State | 315 | +27 |
| 14. | Oklahoma State | 316 | +28 |
| 15. | Kansas | 317 | +29 |
| 16. | UNC Wilmington | 320 | +32 |
| 17. | West Florida | 330 | +42 |
Florida Results
| Place | Name | First Round | Under/Over Par |
| T13. | Whitney Myers | 74 | +2 |
| T19. | Sandra Gal | 75 | +3 |
| T34. | Tiffany Chudy | 76 | +4 |
| T45. | Mallory Blackwelder | 77 | +5 |
| T56. | Ornella Jouven | 79 | +7 |
| T85. | Eleanor Tucker | 87 | +15 |
-UF-
