Florida won their 9th SEC title on Sunday
(Florida Athletics Photo)
BIRMINGHAM, AL (April 23, 2017) - For the ninth time in program history Florida has captured the SEC Women's Championship. The Gators took the lead on Saturday and then pulled away to finish play at Greystone Golf & Country Club 22-under and as 13 shot winners.
"The girls played fantastic," head coach Emily Glaser said. "Today, we were able to put the pedal down after sleeping on the lead, which is hard to do. I was just really impressed with how they managed themselves."
Four Gators produced top-15 performances with Kelly Grassel (3rd; -8) taking low team honors. Grassel led the team on Sunday with a stellar 7-under 65. A birdie on No. 1 set the tone for Grassel as she birdied eight-times and bogeyed once. The lone bogey came on the 9th but Grassel bounced back in a big way with four birdies from Nos. 10-15.
"It's hard to describe how it feels. I know how good my teammates are and we know what we are capable of, but it is still hard to win golf tournaments," Kelly Grassel said. "I'm really proud of how everyone stayed present and in the process."
2016 medalist champion Maria Torres was fourth at 7-under for Florida, Taylor Tomlinson shared seventh at 4-under while finished 3-under to share 13th.
Taking home the individual title was South Carolina senior Katelyn Dambaugh. 12-under for the tournament, Dambaugh rallied to a one-stroke win on the last day with a 6-under 66. The performance was a new school and tournament record
“It’s the best feeling ever,” Katelyn Dambaugh, the second Gamecock to earn SEC medalist honors said. “I have been so close recently, and I love coming here. Being able to win at one of my favorite golf courses is pretty special. I just went out there and played, and me and coach [Kalen Anderson] just went out there and tried to have fun. She said if we had fun, we’d do some special things – and we did.”
Needing some late heroics Dambaugh did just that as she birdied Nos. 16 and 18 to push herself across the finish line.
Overall Dambaugh, a 2016 First-Team All-SEC performer, birdied seven-times and bogeyed once during the round.
36-hole leader Harang Lee of Georgia eagled the final hole but at 11-under she came up one shot short and had to settle for second place, Grassel was third, Torres placed fourth and in fifth it was Maddie Szeryk (Texas A&M); Cheyenne Knight (Alabama) at 5-under.
Behind Florida in the team standings came second place Alabama; Georgia at 9-under, Arkansas was fourth at 7-under and in fifth came Texas A&M; South Carolina at 4-under.
-Florida and South Carolina athletics contributed to this story
ABOUT THE
SEC Women's Championship
54-hole stroke play tournament crowns an individual
champion, then four teams advance to match play
to
determine the SEC team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information