Lendl and Hedberg Back At Top Of Leaderboard; Gators In Hunt At McNamara Invitational

Monday, September 17

Broken Arrow, Okla.

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

Dale McNamara Invitational Rounds 1 and 2

Lendl and Hedberg Back At Top Of Leaderboard; Gators In Hunt At McNamara Invitational

Monday, September 17, 2012 | Women's Golf

Even with an unconventional day of 36 holes, the No. 9 Florida Gator women's golf team still played some of the most consistent golf of the day and sit in second place after the first day of play at the Dale McNamara Inviational. UF found themselves five strokes behind Arizona State after the first 18 holes, but then stayed nearly even par as a team during the second set of 18 holes to remain in second place for the tournament heading into Tuesday's final round. The Gators shot a combined even par (576) after two rounds of play, only four strokes behind Arizona State, which sits at 4-under (572).

Unlike last week, Florida was having to play back-to-back rounds and was able to show its consistency throughout its lineup. During the second round, all five Gators kept their bogeys to a minimum and benefited from a large amount of pars. 64 pars were shot by the Gators in the second round, but only nine bogeys and five double bogeys were made as a team, keeping their team score around the even par line and as a result staying at the top of the leaderboard. Now the team heads into the third and final round with only a four shot deficit, a difference that can be easily made up in a short amount of time in the tough conditions.

“Camilla (Hedberg) and Isabelle (Lendl) each had a great round in the morning and afternoon respectively,” Florida head coach Emily Bastel said. “Those rounds kept us in the golf tournament.”

Much like last week at the Cougar Classic, senior Isabelle Lendl (Goshen, Conn.) and sophomore Camilla Hedberg (Sitges, Spain) are at the top of the individual leaderboard again as Lendl holds the overall lead at 6-under (138) with Hedberg right on her heels at 4-under (140). Lendl, who had a solid first round with a 1-under (71) score, kicked it into high gear in the second round as she holed seven birdies and only had one double bogey at the par four 12^th hole. The rest of her scorecard was filled with pars as she jumped from seventh to sole possession of first place with a second round 67. It's the second straight week that Lendl has carded a 67, just one shot off her career best.

Going for her second win in as many weeks, Hedberg jumped out to a stellar 67 of her own in the first round, which gave her the early tournament lead. The Spaniard started on the 12^th hole and had birdies at No. 13 and No. 1 before she holed out her second shot at the par four 3^rd hole for one of only four eagles on the day. Hedberg went on to shoot two more birdies before her only bogey at No. 9 and finished the first round with a 5-under (67). Her second round was a little tougher as she battled to a 1-over (73) for the round. Hedberg did get four birdies in the round at No. 6, No. 8, No. 9 and No. 13, but three bogeys and a double bogey kept her score high. Even with the over par score, she still is at the top of the individual leaderboard tied for second at 4-under and only two shots behind her teammate, Lendl.

As for the rest of the Gator lineup, senior Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Phillippines) had a par-filled day on the course as she completed an even par (72) round in the first session and then shot 4-over (76) to finish the day tied for 20^th at 4-over (148). In their second outings as members of the Florida golf team, both freshman Ursa Orehek (Domzale, Slovenia) and sophomore Anna Young (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) had some strong moments that showed the consistency needed to play a tough course like the Golf Club of Oklahoma. Young had near identical rounds of 75 and 76 to complete the first day in a tie for 33^rd at 7-over (151). The 75 matches her best outing as a Gator and the 76 is her second-best. For Orehek, the freshman had a tough first go-around as she shot an 8-over (80). However, she settled down well to improve by five shots in her second round to go 3-over (75). Orehek now sits at 11-over (155) for the tournament in a tie for 49^th place.

“Overall, it wasn't our best day, but we are looking forward to tomorrow and glad we are in the hunt,” Bastel said. “I am proud of the girls for hanging in there on a long 36 hole day. It is, obviously, physically tiring, but even more mentally tiring. But we will be ready to go tomorrow.”

No. 4 Arizona State leads all teams at 4-under (572) for the tournament, with Florida right behind at even par. East Carolina holds down the three spot at 8-over (584), while No. 21 Oklahoma State and Kennesaw State round out fourth and fifth place at 10-over (586) and 14-over (590) respectively.

Play will conclude tomorrow with the first groups teeing off 9 a.m. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com and results will also be posted at TulsaHurricane.com. A complete recap with results will be posted on GatorZone.com following the day's play.

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.

Team Scores After Rounds 1 and 2

Place School Score

1 Arizona State 572 (-4)

2 Florida 576 (E)

3 East Carolina 584 (+8)

4 Oklahoma St. 586 (+10)

5 Kennesaw St. 590 (+14)

6 SMU 594 (+18)

7 Coastal Carolina 596 (+20)

8 Kansas 598 (+22)

9 Arkansas-Little Rock 600 (+24)

10 Tulsa 602 (+26)