Florida Gators
SEC Championship
Five-Under Back Nine Place Gators One Shot back of lead at SEC Championship
Friday, April 17, 2026 | Women's Golf
Paula Francisco led Florida with an opening round of 67 (-3).
BELLEAIR, Fla. – The No. 3 Florida women's golf team used a back nine surge of 5-under to finish the opening round 3-under overall and one shot back of the lead at the SEC Championship on Friday at Pelican Golf Club.
Tabbed the No. 1 overall seed this week, the Gators rebounded from a rocky start of 3-over through the first five holes and climbed back up the leaderboard behind a 3-under and bogey-free stretch across holes 6-8 and the back nine performance (5-under).
Florida tees off round two tomorrow at 8 a.m. paired with leaders Texas A&M and Vanderbilt (-4). Following 54-holes of stroke play, the top-8 teams advance to match play.
The team round of 277 (-3) marked the lowest round by Florida at the SEC Championship since its opening round (-9) in 2021. Additionally, the low round is the ninth consecutive under par and the 15th out of 27 total rounds this season.
Paula Francisco led the Orange and Blue with an opening round of 67 (-3), which featured a 3-under bogey-free back nine and a birdie on the 18th. The round marked her team-high 13th under par and seventh straight. The 67 (-3) was also her second all-time at the conference outing, which she shot in opening round last year. The junior from Madrid, Spain is tied for 4th and one shot back of the individual lead.
Playing in her first SEC Championship, graduate transfer Megan Propeck logged a 69 (-1) for her 10th low round this season. She is tied for 16th.
Sophomore Elaine Widjaja erased a 1-over front nine with a 1-under back final nine to shoot an even-par 70 (E) in her first career round at SECs.
Rounding out the lineup and final counting score, featured both Katelyn Huber and Siuue Wu with a 71 (+1). The two were making their debuts at the conference tournament as Gainesville native, Huber, had the honor of teeing off the 45th SEC Championship.
Florida Player Leaderboard:
T4 Paula Francisco - 67 (-3)
T16 Megan Propeck - 69 (-1)
T21 Elaine Widjaja - 70 (E)
T30 Siuue Wu - 71 (+1)
T30 Katelyn Huber - 71 (+1)
Team Leaderboard
T1 Vanderbilt (-4)
T1 Texas A&M (-3)
T3 Florida (-3)
T3 Texas (-3)
T3 Ole Miss (-3)
6th Arkansas (-2)
T7 Mississippi State (E)
T7 Oklahoma (E)
9th Auburn (+3)
T10 Tennessee (+4)
T10 South Carolina (+4)
12th Missouri (+8)
13th Kentucky (+9)
14th Georgia (+15)
T15 LSU (+16)
T15 Alabama (+16)
Post Round Quotes – Head Coach Emily Glaser
On the team to bounce back from rough start…
I was really impressed with the maturity and the patience today. Ultimately, we know that it's going to take some of that as the week goes on, so to see us show that on the back nine, that is a very positive thing.
On Paula Francisco today…
I would describe it sort of the same way (as the team). Clearly, she has been around this golf course and knows she play really well out there, but you still have to go through the process of putting one foot in front of another. I thought she did that well today and stayed patient. There were a couple (birdies) out there that she could have had but, ultimately, it kind of paid off coming down the stretch, just having that patience and perseverance.
Players Mentioned
