USF’s Melanie Green captured her second career tournament victory.
TAMPA, FLA., February 6, 2024 – The University of South Florida women’s golf team picked up where they left off in the Fall, recording a win at the FAU Paradise Invitational in Boca Raton. South Florida, ranked 33rd nationally entering play in the Spring, posted a score of 857 (-7) to fend of the 13-team field. The win is the second for the Bulls this season, along with a victory at the Badger Invitational in the first event of the Fall.
Senior Melanie Green, ranked 25th individually in the country and the AAC Women’s Golfer of the Month for September and October, recorded her first solo victory, posting a score of 210 (-6) in the 54-hole event. Green’s previous first-place finish was a shared title at the Trinity Forest Invitational in 2022. In Boca Raton, she was under par in all three rounds, opening with a 70 (-2) followed by a 69 (-3) in the second round and closing with a 71 (-1). Green led the field in scoring on the par fives at -4 and in par three scoring at -2. Green has finished in the top four of all five tournaments during the 2023-24 season.
The win is the fifth under Head Coach Erika Brennan, in her sixth full season. For the Bulls, it marks the first time since the 2020 Old Friends Invitational that the team won, and a player captured the individual title when Erika Smith was the individual winner.
The Bulls opened with a 286 (-2) in Monday’s first round, sitting in second place, and followed that with a 281 (-7) in the second round later that day to take the pole position entering Tuesday’s final round. The 281 score was the lowest round of any team in the tournament. A final round 290 (+2) was enough to hold off the field as the Bulls went on to a four-shot victory finishing at 857 (-7). USF led the field with 44 birdies and par five scoring at -5, the only team that scored under par on the par fives for the tournament.
Junior Leonor Medeiros tied for sixth, her third top 10 finish of the season and fourth as a Bull. Medeiros started out with one-under 71’s in the first two rounds and closed with an even-par 72. Medeiros now has seven sub-par rounds on the season after recording five in the Fall.
Senior Alizee Vidal joined teammate Medeiros in a tie for sixth. Vidal posted her second top 10 this season and her fourth as a Bull. She opened with a pair of even-par 72’s. In the final round, she recorded five birdies as she closed with a two-under 70 to move 15 spots up the leaderboard. Vidal finished tied for the tournament lead in par four scoring at -3.
Graduate student transfer Alyssa Montgomery finished tied for 26th. Montogomery contributed a scoring round with a three-under 69 in the second round. She opened with a 74 and closed with a 78. Montgomery was second in the field with 42 pars.
Freshman Emma Falcher opened with a scoring round of 73 in Monday’s first round. Falcher followed with a 73 in the second round and closed with a 77 to finish tied for 33rd.
Bulls Team Scores
Place RD1 RD2 RD3 TOTAL
1 Melanie Green (Sr./Medina, N.Y) 70 69 71 -6 (210)
T6 Leonor Medeiros (So./Palmela, Portugal) 71 71 72 -2 (214)
T6 Alizee Vidal (Sr./Le Gosier, France) 72 72 70 -2 (214)
T26 Alyssa Montgomery (Gr./Knoxville, Ten.) 74 69 78 +5 (221)
T33 Emma Falcher (Fr./ Fousenant, France) 73 73 77 +7 (223)
Tournament Team Scores
Place RD1 RD2 RD3 TOTAL
1 South Florida 286 281 290 -7 (857)
2 Denver 285 285 291 -3 (861)
3 Vanderbilt 288 287 290 +1 (865)
T4 Rutgers 289 284 303 +12 (876)
T4 Indiana 294 288 294 +12 (876)
T4 Wisconsin 294 283 299 +12 (876)
7 Notre Dame 290 293 297 +16 (880)
T8 Iowa 290 290 305 +21 (885)
T8 UTSA 296 288 301 +21 (885)
10 East Carolina 301 292 295 +24 (888)
11 Florida Atlantic 295 293 303 +27 (891)
12 Brigham Young 289 293 310 +28 (892)
13 Florida International 301 285 320 +42 (906)
Quoting Head Coach Erika Brennan
“This team deeply understands team golf and they fight for one another relentlessly. Their golf is the second-best quality about them – who they are as people is even more special. Melanie was lights out, and to see her get rewarded for all her hard work is just incredible. We’ll celebrate this one and we’re hungrier for more.”
Up Next
The Bulls will return to the course Feb. 25-66 in the Westbrook Invitational at Westbrook Village Golf Club in Peoria, Ariz.
About USF Women’s Golf
The 2023-24 campaign will be the Bulls’ sixth full season under head coach Erika Brennan. South Florida is among the fastest-rising programs in the country, as they climbed 75 spots in the national Golfstat rankings following Brennan’s first season in 2018-19 and have captured four tournament titles under Brennan, while setting numerous program scoring records under her leadership. Senior standout Melanie Green has been an all-conference performer in each of her first three seasons, qualified for the 2022 NCAA Regional as an individual and was named a 2023 All-American Honorable Mention. Green and the Bulls reached the NCAA Regional as a team in 2023, marking the program’s first postseason appearance in 11 years.
Follow @USFWGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
– #GoBulls –
