Florida Gators
Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic
Gators Tied for Seventh After First Round of Allstate Sugar Bowl; Watts Tied for Sixth
Sunday, February 26, 2012 | Women's Golf
The University of Florida women's golf team completed first round play at the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship in a tie for seventh. The Gators, who shot a team total of 300 (+12), were led by senior Andrea Watts (Bradenton, Fla.), who finished the first day tied for sixth after tying her season-best with a first round 72 (E).
“As a team, the most important thing we focused on the past few weeks was course management, and if you look at our team score card, we didn't have a single double-bogey or worse, which is a huge sign for me that we're going in the right direction,” head coach Jan Dowling said.
Watts made one birdie and one bogey on each the front-nine and the back-nine to finish with a 72 for the third time this season.
“Andrea Watts really scored her golf ball today,” said Dowling “She didn't hit the ball that great and managed to shoot even par. Today was huge for her confidence.”
Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines) recorded one birdie against three bogeys to card a first round 74 (+2). Piccio's finished strong going one-under on her final four holes. Piccio will enter the second round tied for 14th.
Senior Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) and reigning SEC Golfer of the Week, freshman Camilla Hedberg (Sitges, Spain), both shot five-over in the first round. Jensen made one birdie against six bogeys while Hedberg carded two birdies against seven bogeys.
Junior Megan Pak (Bradenton, Fla.) cracked the lineup for the first time this season and shot a seven-over 79.
“We need to do more of the same as far as course management and keep staying positive and capitalize on our birdie opportunities,” Dowling said “It's a wide open field and there's a lot that can still happen.”
Southern California takes the lead into the second round with a team score of 293 (+5) but the top-12 teams are separated by only eight strokes. Cali Hipp from Oregon captured the lead after the first round with a three-under 69.
Tee times begin at 8 a.m. ET off of holes one and ten at the English Turn Golf and Country Club. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com throughout the tournament.
For complete coverage of UF's women's golf program visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Women's Golf page on Facebook.
| PLACE | SCHOOL | TO PAR | SCORE |
| 1 | Southern Cal | +5 | 293 |
| 2 | Oregon | +6 | 294 |
| 3 | Duke | +7 | 295 |
| T4 | Colorado | +9 | 297 |
| T4 | Baylor | +9 | 297 |
| 6 | Tulsa | +11 | 299 |
| T7 | Texas A&M | +12 | 300 |
| T7 | Auburn | +12 | 300 |
| T7 | FLORIDA | +12 | 300 |
| T10 | Alabama | +13 | 301 |
| T10 | Florida State | +13 | 301 |
| T10 | Tulane | +13 | 301 |
| 13 | Kennesaw State | +20 | 308 |
| 14 | Mississippi | +22 | 310 |
| 15 | East Carolina | +25 | 313 |
| FIRST ROUND INDIVIDUAL TOP-10 | ||||
| PLACE | PLAYER | SCHOOL | TO PAR | SCORE |
| 1 | Cali Hipp | Oregon | -3 | 69 |
| T2 | Marita Engzelius | Tulsa | -1 | 71 |
| T2 | Cassy Isagawa | Oregon | -1 | 71 |
| T2 | Lisa McCloskey | Southern Cal | -1 | 71 |
| T2 | Alex Stewart | Colorado | -1 | 71 |
| T6 | Doris Chen | Southern Cal | E | 72 |
| T6 | Chelsey Cothran | Baylor | E | 72 |
| T6 | Hayley Davis | Baylor | E | 72 |
| T6 | Andrea Watts | Florida | E | 72 |
| T10 | Lindy Duncan | Duke | +1 | 73 |
| T10 | Natalie Gleadall | Mississippi | +1 | 73 |
| T10 | Malin Jansson | Florida State | +1 | 73 |
| T10 | Jennifer Kirby | Alabama | +1 | 73 |
| FIRST ROUND FLORIDA RESULTS | |||
| PLACE | PLAYER | TO PAR | SCORE |
| T6 | Andrea Watts | E | 72 |
| T14 | Mia Piccio | +2 | 74 |
| T45 | Camilla Hedberg | +5 | 77 |
| T45 | Evan Jensen | +5 | 77 |
| T61 | Megan Pak | +7 | 79 |
