Women’s Golf: Florida Rallies To Win Season Opener

Florida Women’s Golf secures a season opener win Tuesday at the Sea Best Intercollegiate in Jacksonville. The team finished 7-under through 54 holes, three strokes ahead of second place Illinois State.

only the best for Sea Best Invitational 🏆#GoGators pic.twitter.com/bKPgJ2Q6gz

— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) January 28, 2025

A win was dwindling early in round three at San Jose Country Club for the Gators. After a program record -9 round Monday, ISU stayed sharp on the front nine of the tournament’s final round, at one point leading Florida by five shots. It was the largest deficit behind first place the Gators had all tournament.

Florida battled back, staying consistent throughout the day. The Gators capitalized on ISU’s late-round mistakes with a string of birdies from sophomore Paula Francisco, sophomore Inès Archer, and freshman Siuue Wu to push ahead of Illinois State.

Four Gators finished in the top-13 out of the 80 athletes competing. Archer was Florida’s best individual performer, finishing T4 at 3-under, just two strokes behind co-champions Lousiane Gauthier and Mercedes Aldana.

Wu shot her best round of the tournament at one-under. Her performance of no bogeys and one birdie helped complete the comeback for the Gators. Francisco had her best round as well, holing in six birdies for a -2 performance.

Individual Performances:

The win by the numbers 📊

Presented by @WellsFargo | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/gsLw8yJZNr

— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) January 28, 2025

Top Five Teams

1 – Florida (-7)

2 – Illinois State (-4)

3 – Costal Carolina (+3)

4 – South Alabama (+7)

5 – Jacksonville (+9)

What’s Next

Tuesday’s win is the third consecutive and overall win of the 2024 – 2025 season for Florida. The Gators have now won three tournaments in back-to back seasons, the ninth time in program history the team has made this mark, last occurring in the 2015 – 2017 seasons.

Led by a strong group of freshmen and a fresh batch of transfers, Florida has its whole spring season to tack on additional tournament titles.

The Therese Hession Regional is Florida’s next tournament. The three-day match starts February 2nd.