Florida Gators
SEC Championships
Gal Leads Women's Golf To Sixth-Place Tie In First Round Of SEC Championship
Friday, April 20, 2007 | Women's Golf
The University of Florida women's golf team, ranked seventh in the GolfStat NCAA head-to-head ratings, finished the opening day of the 2007 SEC Championship in a tie for sixth after shooting an eight-over 296 on Friday. Junior Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) was one of just seven players to break par during the opening round, carding a two-under 70 to finish the day just three strokes off the pace.
Gal got off to a quick start with back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes before bogeys on five and nine sent her into the turn at even par. A five on the par-four 11th lifted her score to one over with seven holes left to play. She rebounded with birdies on three of her last five holes, including consecutive birdies on 17 and 18, to finish a two-under round of 70.
The final charge brought Gal's birdie total to five for the afternoon, and enabled her to record her 13th round at par or better on the season. She owns nine of the Lady Gators' last 11 rounds at par or better, and has produced such a round in each of the eight collegiate tournaments in which she has competed this season. Friday's performance earned Gal a share of fifth place after 18 holes, just three strokes behind the mark of 67 (-5) set by Georgia's Garrett Phillips.
Junior Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) and sophomore Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) shot identical scores of 75 (+3) on Friday, following similar paths to their outcomes. Both Lady Gators got off to a bit of a bumpy start, with Myers bogeying three of her first seven holes and Blackwelder recording consecutive bogeys on holes five and six. The pair went in to the turn at two over, Myers doing so thanks to a ninth-hole birdie and Blackwelder hitting that mark on the strength of three-straight pars. Blackwelder was the more active of the duo on the back nine, combating a bogey and a double-bogey with a pair of birdies, while Myers played par golf on the back half, save for a bogey on 15.
Junior Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) rolled in a pair of birdies on the day en route to a four-over 76. Chudy was one over on the day heading into the 17th hole, but closed her round with a bogey and double-bogey, respectively. She will head into Saturday's second round in a nine-way tie for 31st. Redshirt sophomore Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) will begin second-round play in a deadlock for 40th place after shooting a five-over 77 in the opening round.
Georgia will open tomorrow's second round with six-stroke cushion over the closest competitor after tallying a three-under 285 on Friday, while the Bulldogs' Phillips will tee off with the individual lead at five under. Play will resume at 9:30 a.m. EST on Saturday. Scoring will be done live on the Internet at www.golfstat.com, and can also be accessed at www.gatorzone.com.
Team Standings Through Round One
| Place | School | Score |
| 1. | Georgia | 285 (-3) |
| 2. | Alabama | 291 (+3) |
| 3. | Tennessee | 292 (+4) |
| 4. | LSU | 294 (+6) |
| 5. | South Carolina | 295 (+7) |
| T6. | FLORIDA | 296 (+8) |
| T6. | Arkansas | 296 (+8) |
| T6. | Vanderbilt | 296 (+8) |
| 9. | Auburn | 298 (+10) |
| 10. | Kentucky | 308 (+20) |
| T11. | Mississippi State | 312 (+24) |
| T11. | Mississippi | 312 (+24) |
Individual Top-10 Through Round One
| Place | Player | Score |
| 1. | Garrett Phillips (Georgia) | 67 (-5) |
| 2. | Marci Turner (Tennessee) | 68 (-4) |
| T3. | Helena Blomberg (Alabama) | 69 (-3) |
| T3. | Taylor Leon (Georgia) | 69 (-3) |
| T5. | SANDRA GAL (FLORIDA) | 70 (-2) |
| T5. | Blythe Worley (South Carolina) | 70 (-2) |
| 7. | Angela Oh (Tennessee) | 71 (-1) |
| T8. | Laura Goodwin (Alabama) | 72 (E) |
| T8. | Rebecca Kuhn (LSU) | 72 (E) |
| T8. | Marissa Milligan (Auburn) | 72 (E) |
| T8. | Alexis Rather (LSU) | 72 (E) |
Florida Results Through Round One
| Place | Player | Score |
| T5. | Sandra Gal | 70 (-2) |
| T23. | Mallory Blackwelder | 75 (+3) |
| T23. | Whitney Myers | 75 (+3) |
| T31. | Tiffany Chudy | 76 (+4) |
| T40. | Ornella Jouven | 77 (+5) |
-UF-
