Florida State University Athletics
W. Golf: No. 12 Seminoles Looking To Spring Forward At Valspar
3/9/2023 8:36:57 PM | Women's Golf
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The second weekend in March generally signals the start of spring which brings daylight savings time. On Saturday night, it’s time for most of the nation to set their clocks ahead; to spring forward and enjoy a few more hours of sunlight in the day for the next six months.
That’s what Seminole Head Coach Amy Bond and her team are set to do this weekend at the Valspar Augusta Invitational at the Forest Hills Golf Club – spring forward.
”Valspar has a great field and Forest Hills is a challenging golf course,” said Bond. “I am looking forward to a good test of golf against some great teams.”
No. 12 Florida State faces one of its biggest challenges of the season against one of the deepest fields on its spring schedule. The field includes six teams in the nation’s top 25 – the Seminoles, No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 21 Florida, No. 24 Duke — as the Seminoles prepare for not only their home tournament (March 17-19 at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club) but their run to the postseason which begins in just over one month at the ACC Championships (April 13-16).
With consecutive third place finishes in the last two years at the Valspar, Florida State’s lineup of senior Amelia Williamson, juniors Charlotte Heath and Alice Hodge, sophomore Kaylah Williams and freshman Lottie Woad, will look to spring forward in the team standings this season. Freshman Katherine Cook will play in the event as an individual.
Williamson, who finished in a tie for 14th in the individual standings at the Valspar in 2021, will play in the event for the third time in her career.
“I’m super excited to play the Valspar,” said Williamson. “This will be my third time playing this course. I am super confident and feel like I can be aggressive in the way I play. I’ve been working on a few swing changes and I’ve started to see them transfer into my game. I’m excited to see what happens.”
Heath, who will also play in the Valspar for the third time in her career, tied the school record score for a single round with a 65 in the first round of the 2021 event. She finished in a tie for 11th place in the individual standings with her 4 under par score of 212.
For Williamson, Heath and Woad, this trip to play in the Valspar will be their first of two trips to Augusta in the next couple of weeks as the trio will play in the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National (March 29-April 1).
Woad, who has earned six top-eight individual finishes in the first six events of her career, has another opportunity to continue the incredible start to her freshman season as a Seminole. She is a total of minus 32 strokes under par with one individual championship in her first season at Florida State.
“I’m looking forward to competing against another high quality field, and testing my game on a great course,” said Woad.
For Bond and her team, playing well at the Valspar will be a springboard for the remainder of the regular season.
“I would like to see some more consistency and more importantly some confidence for all three rounds from everyone,” said Bond. “They have worked hard, and now it’s time to trust the process.”