The Bulls post a 13-shot victory in the Badger Invitational
TAMPA, FLA., September 19, 2023 – The University of South Florida women’s golf team captured a win in the first event of the 2023-24 season, the 50th in program history. The Bulls outdistanced the field by 13 shots at the Badger Invitational which concluded on Tuesday in Madison, Wisconsin.
The win is South Florida’s first since the Old Friends Invitational in the 2019-20 season and the fourth under head coach Erika Brennan, in her sixth full season.
USF held a one-shot lead heading into the final round on Tuesday and closed with a 283 (-5) to win going away. The Bulls shot a five-over 293 in the first round followed by a four-under 284 in the second round. Par-five scoring was the key to the win as the Bulls led the field at -17 on the par fives.
South Florida’s three-day score of 860 (-4) was the only tournament score under par and was 13 shots ahead of the host Wisconsin Badgers at the event (873, +9).
Senior Melanie Green paced the Bulls, carding a round of 68 (-4) in the final round to move up five spots on the leaderboard to tie for fourth individually at 212 (-4). Green led the field in par 4 scoring at -3 and was fourth with 11 total birdies over 54 holes at the three-day event.
Junior Leonor Medeiros carded a hole-in-one in the second round, acing the par-3 12th hole (161 yards) on her way to a round of 69 (-3) on Monday. It was her second career hole-in-one and first in collegiate competition. Medeiros posted a career-best fifth-place finish at 214(-2).
Senior Alizee Vidal, who led the Bulls with an even-par 72 in the first round on Sunday, followed up with another 72 in the second round. She closed with a 74 (+2) to finish tied for 10th individually, her third top-10 finish as a Bull.
Freshman Emma Falcher, in her Bulls’ debut, placed in the top 20 with rounds three rounds of 73 (+1) to finish tied for 14th at 219.
Graduate student transfer Alyssa Montgomery closed play on Tuesday with a one-under par 71 to move up 13 spots and finished tied for 23rd in her first tournament as a Bull.
Bulls Team Scores
Place RD1 RD2 TOTAL
T10 Melanie Green (Sr./Medina, N.Y) 74 70 68 -4 (212)
T14 Leonor Medeiros (So./Palmela, Portugal) 74 69 71 +1 (214)
T31 Alizee Vidal (Sr./Le Gosier, France) 72 72 74 +2 (218)
T31 Emma Falcher (Fr./ Fousenant, France) 73 73 73 +3 (219)
T56 Alyssa Montgomery (Gr./Knoxville, Ten.) 76 74 71 +5 (221)
Tournament Team Scores
Place RD1 RD2 RD3 TOTAL
1 South Florida 293 284 283 -4 (860)
2 Wisconsin 292 291 290 +9 (873)
3 Delaware 292 286 296 +10 (874)
4 UTSA 296 293 287 +12 (876)
5 New Mexico State 300 284 295 +15 (879)
6 Colorado State 296 292 295 +19 (883)
7 Indiana 302 287 298 +23 (887)
8 Iowa 296 294 299 +25 (889)
9 UC Davis 303 297 295 +31 (895)
10 Yale 300 294 304 +34 (898)
T11 Sam Houston 302 297 301 +36 (900)
T11 Rutgers 305 300 295 +36 (900)
13 Augusta 296 305 300 +37 (901)
14 North Florida 299 305 302 +42 ( 906)
5 East Tennessee St. 308 299 304 +47 (911)
Quoting Head Coach Erika Brennan
“The team played inspired golf and it was awesome to see them get rewarded for those efforts. Top to bottom their games looked so solid and they executed! Winning a college golf tournament is never easy especially when sleeping on a lead but they came out on fire today! The message after the round was, we can make this the highlight of our season or the beginning of the season. Let’s make it the beginning.”
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 –
