Florida Gators
Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Myers Leads Lady Gator Golfers After Round One of Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Saturday, February 25, 2006 | Women's Golf
The No. 22 University of Florida women's golf team sits in fourth place, just four strokes behind the leading team, after the first round of the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) sits in a tie for fifth place individually, as she notched a one-over 73 at the 6,000-yard Dorado Del Mar golf course at the Puerto Rico Golf Resort.
Myers is currently two strokes behind the individual runner-up and five behind first-round leader Ann Laney of North Carolina. After her day one showing, Myers is hoping to improve in each round she plays, and hopefully take over the top spot.
“My goal for myself this spring is to get an individual tournament win,” said Myers. “At the beginning of the round today I didn't play very well and was concerned about getting birdies. As soon as I stopped worrying and started playing my game, they just started dropping for me. If I can play better tomorrow and better than that in the last round, hopefully I can be in a position to get the win for my team.”
Freshman Brittany Nelson (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), a spring addition to the Lady Gator golf team, claimed a tie for 10th in the first round after firing a plus-two, 74 for the day. Sophomore team captain Tiffany Chudy (Miramar) shot a 75 to sit in a tie for 17th, while redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France), competing as an individual, notched a 76 for the day to claim a share of 25th-place.
Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) and freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) rounded out the Orange and Blue squad, as each shot a 77 to finish at plus-five and in a tie for 33rd. Head coach Jill Briles-Hinton was pleased with the first round performance of her team, especially Myers and Nelson.
“Overall I was impressed with everyone today,” said Briles-Hinton. “I was very happy with Whitney, she had a couple of good rounds in California last week and has kept up that level of play, which is good to see. I was also happy with Brittany's performance. This is the first event of her collegiate career and she's playing very well.”
In the team standings, No. 3 and tournament-host Purdue sits in first place, while No. 21 Kent State holds second. Southeastern Conference foe No. 9 Arkansas finished one stroke ahead of UF to notch a third-place finish on day one, while No. 23 Oklahoma State rounds out the top five behind the Lady Gators. Briles-Hinton is optimistic her squad can move up during the second day of competition.
“We had a good first round, but there is room for improvement,” said Briles-Hinton. “We left some strokes on the course today, and the key for us will be getting them back when we go out there tomorrow. Saturday is moving day for us, if we can make a move in the second round we can put ourselves in a position to win this tournament.”
'Moving day' kicks off Saturday with an 8 a.m. shot gun start at the Dorado Del Mar golf course. A second round recap and full results will be available at the conclusion of play at www.gatorzone.com.
Lady Gator Round One Results
| Name | Round 1 | Place | Rel. To Par |
| Whitney Myers | 73 | T5 | +1 |
| Brittany Nelson | 74 | T10 | +2 |
| Tiffany Chudy | 75 | T17 | +3 |
| Ornella Jouven* | 76 | T25 | +4 |
| Sandra Gal | 77 | T33 | +5 |
| Mallory Blackwelder | 77 | T33 | +5 |
* - Competing as an individual
Team Standings Following Round One
| Name | Round 1 | Rel. To Par |
| 1 Purdue | 295 | +7 |
| 2 Kent State | 297 | +9 |
| 3 Arkansas | 298 | +10 |
| 4 Florida | 299 | +11 |
| 5 Oklahoma State | 300 | +12 |
| 6 North Carolina | 301 | +13 |
| 7 South Carolina | 306 | +18 |
| 8 TCU | 307 | +19 |
| 9 Tulsa | 308 | +20 |
| 10 Texas A&M | 309 | +21 |
| 11 Oklahoma | 312 | +24 |
| 12 East Tennessee State | 319 | +31 |
| 13 Wisconsin | 320 | +32 |
| 14 Indiana | 322 | +34 |
| 15 Iowa State | 327 | +39 |
| 16 Minnesota | 328 | +40 |
-UF-
