University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
SEC Championships
Silva Zamora Leads, UGA Fourth At SECs
April 20, 2012 | Women's Golf
April 20, 2012
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Sparked by her first-ever hole in one, Marta Silva Zamora shot a 3-under 69 to grab a share of the individual lead and pace the No. 9-ranked Georgia women's golf team to a 308 in Friday's opening round of the Southeastern Conference Championships at Blessings Golf Club.
Silva Zamora is tied with Patricia Sanz of Auburn, a stroke ahead of Vanderbilt's Marina Alex. The Bulldogs are in fourth, two shots from second but 11 off the pace of No. 2 Alabama.
"You obviously can't win a championship on the first day, but you can lose one," head coach Kelley Hester said. "We didn't lose it. We would like to be a little closer to the lead but the early morning tee time and the windy conditions proved to be very difficult. We survived it, though, and we'll go out tomorrow and the next day and try to chip away at the lead and see where we end up."
All three teams teeing off from No. 1 at 8:30 battled what appeared to be the most difficult draw. While the Bulldogs are fourth, their playing partners, No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 13 Tennessee, are 11th and 12th, respectively.
Georgia also counted a 76 from Emilie Burger, an 80 from Rocio Sanchez Lobato and an 83 from Milena Savich, while discarding Hill's 89. Overall, Burger is tied for 11th, Sanchez Lobato is tied for 33rd, Savich is tied for 51st and Hill is tied for 58th.
Silva Zamora turned at 2-under, bookending seven pars with bogeys at No. 1 and No. 9, before playing the back side at 5-under. At No. 10, she knocked her 7-iron about a foot to the right of the hole. Following a small hop to the left, backspin brought the ball into the cup for for Silva Zamora's first ace.
"I'd never had one," Silva Zamora said. "I've been close but one has never gone in. I had about 150 or 155 yards and it was actually a good shot…it wasn't one of those lucky ones. After that, I just started playing really well. I don't think I had a putt much longer than 10 feet the rest of the day.
"Early in the day, I was just playing good," Silva Zamora continued. "I was hitting a lot of fairways, hitting a lot of greens and two-putting. After that, I think I played much better."
Silva Zamora kept that momentum with birdies at No. 11, No. 12 and No. 16. On 16, Silva Zamora attempted to reach the short, par-5 on two but hit her second shot just short and about 15 yards left of the green into knee-high rough. She pitched out left of the green and rolled her shot within 10 feet before converting the birdie.
Georgia actually turned at 14-over and no Bulldog made a birdie over the first nine holes.
"I'm very proud of the fight and determination we showed today," Hester said. "We got off to a slow start and could've very easily let it go but we did not."
The Crimson Tide's 297 leads No. 5 Auburn at 306, No. 15 Florida at 307, the Bulldogs at 308, Arkansas and Ole Miss at 309, No. 7 LSU at 310, No. 24 South Carolina and Mississippi State at 315, Kentucky at 317, No. 10 Vanderbilt at 318 and No. 13 Tennessee at 320.
The Bulldogs will be paired with Arkansas and LSU for Saturday's second round, teeing off from 8:30-9:10 am CT from No. 1. Live scoring throughout the tournament can be found at www.georgiadogs.com.
SEC Women's Golf Championships
Blessings Golf Club
Fayetteville, Ark.
Par 72; 6234 Yards
Friday's First-Round Standings
Team Leaderboard
Alabama 297
Auburn 306
Florida 307
Georgia 308
Arkansas 309
Ole Miss 309
LSU 310
South Carolina 315
Mississippi St. 315
Kentucky 317
Vanderbilt 318
Tennessee 320
Individual Leaderboard
Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia 69
Patricia Sanz, Auburn 69
Marina Alex, Vanderbilt 70
Stephanie Meadow, Alabama 71
Madelene Sangstrom, LSU 72
Emmy Lavy, Arkansas 73
Brooke Pancake, Alabama 73
Ericka Schneider, Ole Miss 74
Isabelle Lendl, Florida 75
Ashlee Rose, Kentucky 75
Additional Georgia Scores
T11. Emilie Burger, Georgia 76
T33. Rocio Sanchez Lobato, Georgia 80
T51. Milena Savich, Georgia 83
T58. Amelia Hill, Georgia 89
