Florida Gators
Liz Murphey Collegiate
Gal Ties For Third To Lead Women's Golf To Second Place Finish At Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
Sunday, March 25, 2007 | Women's Golf
Junior Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) fired a tournament-best round of 69 on the final 18-holes to lead the eighth-ranked Lady Gator golf team to a second place finish at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic at University Golf Course on Sunday.
Florida entered the day in third place and shot a team round of 294 (+10) on Sunday to move up for the second place finish. The Lady Gators finished with a 54-hole total of 892 (+40) which was 11 strokes behind the tournament winner, fourth-ranked Auburn, who lead the event all three days and finished with a team score of 881 including a tournament-best team round of 289 in the third-round.
Gal was the only golfer to fire a round below 70 for the entire tournament and was one of only three golfers to shoot a round under par at the event. Gal entered the day tied for eighth and tied a career-best with the third-round score of 69 to jump up five spots and finish tied for third with a 54-hole total of 216 (+3). Gal was just one stroke away from joining Virginia's Leah Wigger and Purdue's Maria Hernandez, both at 215 (+2), in a playoff for the individual title. Wigger defeated Hernandez on the first extra playoff hole with a birdie.
Playing in a shotgun format, Gal started the day on the first hole and was one-over through six holes before she rattled off three straight birdies to make the turn with a two-under score of 33. Her front nine birdies came on the par-5, 484-yard seventh, the par-3, 156-yard eighth and the par-4, 386-yard ninth. Gal shot the back nine at an even 36 by shooting par on seven holes while countering a bogey on 14th hole with a birdie on the par-4, 371-yard 15th.
Redshirt sophomore Ornella Jouven (LaCiotat, France) and sophomore Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) both shot their best round of the tournament as well in the third-round as each carded a 74. Jouven moved up five spots from 21st to finish tied for 16th with a 54-hole total of 224 (+11) while Blackwelder finished tied for 28th at 227 (+14). Junior Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) finished the event at 225 (+12) after a third-round of 77, and junior Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) carded a three-day total of 238 (+25) to finish in 69th.
Final Leader Board (54 Holes)
| Place | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| 1 | Auburn | 293 | 299 | 289 | 881 (+29) |
| 2 | FLORIDA | 300 | 298 | 294 | 892 (+40) |
| 3 | Arkansas | 300 | 297 | 300 | 897 (+45) |
| 4 | Alabama | 302 | 301 | 295 | 898 (+46) |
| 5 | Purdue | 304 | 299 | 299 | 902 (+50) |
| 6 | Virginia | 303 | 296 | 306 | 905 (+53) |
| 7 | Wake Forest | 307 | 292 | 307 | 906 (+54) |
| 8 | Georgia | 303 | 300 | 304 | 907 (+55) |
| 9 | South Carolina | 302 | 300 | 307 | 909 (+57) |
| 10 | Florida State | 312 | 302 | 296 | 910 (+58) |
| 11 | Louisiana State | 301 | 306 | 304 | 911 (+59) |
| 12 | Michigan State | 297 | 310 | 309 | 916 (+64) |
| T13 | Central Florida | 319 | 308 | 300 | 927 (+75) |
| T13 | Kent State | 314 | 310 | 303 | 927 (+75) |
| 15 | Mississippi State | 314 | 315 | 304 | 933 (+81) |
| 16 | Furman | 312 | 314 | 311 | 937 (+85) |
| 17 | Georgia State | 331 | 312 | 317 | 960 (+108) |
| 18 | Augusta State | 314 | 325 | 326 | 965 (+113) |
Florida Individual Scores
| Place | Individual | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| T3 | Sandra Gal | 74 | 73 | 69 | 216 (+3) |
| T16 | Ornella Jouven | 75 | 75 | 74 | 224 (+11) |
| T19 | Tiffany Chudy | 76 | 72 | 77 | 225 (+12) |
| T28 | Mallory Blackwelder | 75 | 78 | 74 | 227 (+14) |
| 69 | Whitney Myers | 77 | 82 | 79 | 238 (+25) |
