Filler Claims Third Win; Gators Finish Fifth At Moon Golf Invitational

Gators Senior Maisie Filler won her third tournament this season Tuesday, finishing nine-under at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida.

Filler’s previous two wins came at The Ally in West Point, Mississippi, and the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Despite Filler’s win, the No. 8 Gators could only manage a fifth place finish (tied with Texas A&M) among a field featuring 12 top-25 teams.

https://twitter.com/GatorsGolf/status/1760029798519218187

Filler Claws Back for Individual Title

Filler shot an even-par 72 in round 3 to win the individual title by three shots over LSU’s Aine Donegan and Ingrid Lindblad (both -6). However, Filler’s win didn’t come without its drama on the back nine.

Filler began the day 2-under after seven holes; however, she would bogey holes 8, 9 and 10 to put her at 1-over in round 3 and one shot back of LSU’s Aine Donegan for first place with eight holes to go.

Donegan’s charge would be cut short after going double bogey-bogey on holes 15 and 16, putting Filler, who went bogey-free over her final eight holes, back in solo first place by two shots.

Maisie’s par on 15 regains her the solo lead 💪

1. Maisie Filler (-8)
2. Aine Donegan/LSU (-7)

Live Scoring: https://t.co/aVj3Zb7TiB
Watch Live: https://t.co/oJC5Axu8f6 pic.twitter.com/auJiTyy83K

— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) February 20, 2024

Filler would then shut the door with a birdie on the 17th hole to extend her lead to three shots before finishing off the victory with a par on hole 18.

Archer Bounces Back After Tough Start

Freshmen Inès Archer, who shot 80 (+8) in Saturday’s opening round, improved by eight shots in round 3, joining Filler in shooting 72 Tuesday. Archer also shot 74 (+2) Monday in round 2 to finish with a combined score of 2-over after round 1.

Archer and Filler were the only Gators to shoot better than an over-par score Tuesday.

Strong start for Inès at the turn ↩️

Her last four holes ⤵️
Birdie-birdie-par-par

Live Scoring: https://t.co/aVj3Zb7TiB
Watch Live: https://t.co/oJC5Axu8f6 pic.twitter.com/tvremjia2y

— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) February 20, 2024

Gators Shoot +6 in Round 3

The Gators stood in third place going into Tuesday’s final round at 3-over, trailing LSU and Auburn (both -3) by six shots for first place. Florida followed up a 3-over round 1 score with an even par score in round 2 to put the Gators within reasonable striking distance of the lead.

However, Florida would have its worst round of the tournament, shooting 6-over Tuesday to drop two spots down from third place into joint-fifth-place with Texas A&M. LSU pulled away in the final round, shooting 11-under to win by 16 shots total over second-place Auburn.

Florida earns a T5 finish at the Moon Golf Invitational 👏

Maisie Filler earns her third medalist honors of the season 🏆

Next up, the Gators Invitational (March 2-3) 🐊 pic.twitter.com/Vs7UM2xPC9

— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) February 20, 2024

Florida women’s golf will be at home for its next outing in the Gators Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course on March 2-3.