Fuller claims individual title, helps Florida catch Ole Miss for share of Florida Gators Invitational crown

    England’s Annabell Fuller showed up on the Florida roster just in time to give the Gators a huge boost as the spring portion of  the wraparound 2019-2020 season was  getting under way.

   Fuller had been a 16-year-old on the Great Britain & Ireland team that was pretty thoroughly beaten by a loaded United States side in the 2018 Curtis Cup Match at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, a Donald Ross gem in Scarsdale, N.Y. The kid had to take on former Alabama standout Kristen Gillman, who would win her second U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship later that summer, in a Sunday singles match and dropped a 5 and 4 decision. But that experience of trying to execute in the most difficult of circumstances builds quality scar tissue.

   Early in 2019, Fuller, by then attending the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., finished third in the Harder Hall Women’s Invitational, one of the stops on the unofficial Orange Blossom Tour of women’s amateur events at the Harder Hall Golf Club in Sebring, Fla.

   The coronavirus pandemic stopped the promising start to Fuller’s college career in its tracks last March. She did reach the final of The Women’s Amateur Championship in August at West Lancashire before falling to Germany’s Aline Krauter, a junior at Stanford. Fuller was on a list of 17 candidates released by the Royal & Ancient for the GB&I team for the Curtis Cup Match originally scheduled to be played last June, but which has been rescheduled for August of this year at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales. I’m betting she’s one of the ones who survive the final cut.

   Fuller, No. 46 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), started gaining some momentum toward a spring finish that was taken away from her a year ago with a solid three-shot victory that led Florida, No. 15 in the first Golfstat rankings of the spring, to a share of the team title with Southeastern Conference rival Mississippi, ranked seventh, in the Florida Gators Invitational, presented by VyStar Credit Union, which wrapped up Tuesday at Florida’s home course, the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.

   The wind’s been blowing in Florida and it kept the scores high. Fuller’s 3-under 67 over the 6,002-yard, par-70 Mark Bostick layout in Sunday’s opening round was the best round of the day.

   While many of the players took advantage of a more vulnerable setup for Monday’s second round, Fuller settled for a 2-over 72 that left her a shot behind Maryland’s Virunpat Olankitkunchai, a senior from Thailand, and Ohio State’s Aneka Seumanutafa, a sophomore from Emmitsburg, Md., heading into Tuesday’s final round.

   But Fuller was at her best Tuesday, putting together a flawless 4-under 66, the best individual round of the tournament and her career best, that left her with a 5-under 205 total and a three-shot margin of victory over Olankitnunchai, Seumanutafa and Ole Miss’ Julia Johnson, one of the Rebels’ senior leaders from St. Gabriel, La.

   Starting on the fourth hole, Fuller ripped off nine straight pars, birdied the 13^th hole and then rattled off birdies at 16, 17 and 18 before making pars on the first three holes on the card for a four-birdie, no-bogey tour of her home course.

  The Gators had opened with a 7-over 287 and added an 11-over 291 that left them six shots behind Ole Miss and five behind No. 14 Maryland.

   But Fuller’s 66 led Florida to a closing 2-under 278, the best team round of the tournament, and enabled the Gators to catch Ole Miss for a share of the team crown at 16-over 856 for their sixth straight title in the Florida Gators Invitational.

   Ole Miss had capped a limited fall schedule with a huge win in the East Lake Cup with The Golf Channel cameras rolling. The Bebels, coming off a runnerup finish to Oklahoma State in the Heroes Ladies’ Intercollegiate at The Founders Club in Sarasota, Fla. earlier this month, started slowly with a 293 before moving to the top of the leaderboard with a 1-under 279 in Monday’s second round. Ole Miss closed with a 4-over 284 to join Florida at 16-over 856.

   Maryland earned a share of third place with No. 20 Alabama at 23-over 863.

   The Terrapins, which might be making some noise at the Big Ten Championship this spring, opened with a 291 and added a 2-over 282 and trailed Ole Miss by just a shot going into the final round. Maryland, swimming with some big fish from the SEC, finished up with a 10-over 290. Alabama, slowly working its way back into the national championship picture, got better as the week went on, opening with a 291 and adding a 287 before closing with a 5-over 285.

   It was another three shots back to No. 18 Miami, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, in fifth place at 26-over 866. The Hurricanes bounced back from an opening-round 296 with a 1-over 281 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 9-over 289.

   Another SEC program back on the rise, No. 13 Georgia, finished six shots behind Miami in sixth place at 32-over 872. The  Bulldogs also started slowly with a 296, rebounded with a 4-over 284 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 292.

   No. 25 UCF grabbed the lead following a solid 3-over 283 in the opening round, but fell back with a 290 in Monday’s second round and a final-round 302 that left the Knights three shots behind Georgia in seventh place in the 14-team field at 35-over 875.

   No. 56 Penn State finished in 14^th and last place with an 890 total, but the Nittany Lions didn’t play badly after getting off to a rough 307 start in tough conditions against a tough field. Penn State bounced back with a 290 in Monday’s second round and finished up with a 293.

   Backing up Fuller for Florida was Marina Escobar Domingo, a sophomore from Spain who contributed a 1-under 69 to the Gators’ fast finish in the final round and ended up in the group tied for 12^th place at 5-over 215. Escobar Domingo opened with a 74 and added a 2-over 72 in Monday’s second round.

   Jenny Kim, a junior from Orlando, Fla., added a pair of 1-over 71s to her opening-round 75 to finish in the group tied for 15^th place at 7-over 217. Maisie Filler, a freshman from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., closed with a clutch 2-over 72 to join the group tied for 38^th place at 222. Filler opened with a 73 and struggled to a 77 in the second round.

   Filler’s final-round 72 was big because Addie Baggerly, a senior from Jonesborough, Tenn., was unable to post a score in the final round, for whatever reason. The veteran Baggerly had contributed an opening-round 73 and a 76 in Monday’s second round, both of which were counters.

   After opening with a 72, Johnson, a veteran senior for Ole Miss, carded a 1-under 69 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 3-under 67 to get a share of second place in the individual standings at 2-under 208 and lead the way for the Rebels.

   Andrea Lignell, a sophomore from Sweden, gave Ole Miss a second top-10 finisher as she closed with a 74 to end up among a trio of players tied for eighth place at 3-over 213. Lignell got herself in contention with a sparkling 3-under 67 in Monday’s second round after she had opened with a 72.

   Kennedy Swann, another veteran senior from Austin, Texas, closed with a solid 1-over 71 to land in the group tied for 15^th place at 7-over 287. Swann had struggled to a 76 in the opening round, but bounced back by matching par with a 70 in Monday’s second round.

   Swann, Ohio State’s Seumanutafa, and Vanderbilt’s Auston Kim, a junior from St. Augustine, Fla. and No. 34 in the Women’s WAGR, who was also in the Florida Gators Invitational field, were among the 12 players invited to an audition for the U.S. Curtis Cup team last month at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Fla.

   Chiara Tamburlini, a sophomore from Switzerland, gave Ole Miss four top-20 finishers as she closed with a clutch 2-over 72 that left her among the group tied for 20^th place at 8-over 218.

   Rounding out the Ole Miss lineup was Smilia Sanderby, a freshman from Denmark who added a final-round 78 to the pair of 76s she posted in the first two rounds as she finished in a tie for 65^th place at 230.

   Olankitkunchai, coming off an individual title in the Paradise Invitational earlier this month at Boca Largo Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., and Seumanutafa, were in lockstep the whole tournament. Each matched par in the opening round with a 70 and each registered a 2-under 68 in Monday’s second round to share the lead heading into the final round. And both again matched par in the final round with a 70 to finish in a tie for second place, along with Ole Miss’ Johnson at 2-under 208.

   Alabama’s Benedetta Moresco, a freshman from Italy and No. 17 in the Women's WAGR, finished alone in fifth place at even-par 210. After opening with a 73, Moresco fired a 3-under 67 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Tennessee’s Kayla Golden, a freshman from Coral Springs, Fla., and Miami’s Nataliya Guseva, a freshman from Russia, finished in a tie for sixth place at 2-over 212, two shots behind Moresco. Golden sandwiched an even-par 70 in Monday’s second roujnd with a pair of 71s. After opening with a 72, Guseva fired a 3-under 67 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 73.

   Joining Ole Miss’ Lignell in a tie for eighth place at 3-over 213 were Guseva’s Miami teammate, Renate Grimstad, the Hurricanes’ veteran senior from Norway, and Vanderbilt’s Celina Sattelkau, a sophomore from Germany. After opening with a 75, Grimstad ripped off back-to-back 1-under 69s. Sattelkau added a 1-over 71 to her opening-round 70 before finishing up with a 72.

   Leading the way for Penn State was Sarah Willis, a junior from Eaton, Ohio who sandwiched a 1-over 71 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 75s to finish in the group tied for 35^th place at 11-over 221. Megan McLean, a graduate student from Lebanon, N.J., was two shots behind Willis in the group tied for 44^th place at 223. McLean opened with a 76 and added a 3-over 73 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 74.

   After struggling to an opening-round 79, Mathilde Delavallade, a sophomore from France, signed for a solid 1-over 71 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 75 to end up in a tie for 52^nd place at 225. Victoria Tip-Aucha, a freshman from Vienna, Va. via Thailand, landed in the group tied for 56^th place at 227. Tip-Aucha struggled in the opening round with an 82, but recovered nicely, posting a 75 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Ishna Dhruva, a sophomore from Katy, Texas, landed in the group tied for 62^nd place at 229, adding a 78 to her opening-round 77 and closing with her best round of the week, a 4-over 74.