JUPITER, Fla. - Sophomore Anna Claire Bridge won the Jupiter Invitational individual title Tuesday as FGCU placed second as a team.
"I am really proud of the team's effort, and I hoped we made Southwest Florida smile a little amid the heartbreak of Hurricane Ian," first-year head coach Shannon Sykora said. "We played solid most of the day today, but we gave some shots away toward the end. Anna Claire played great all week and was able to take the title on the last hole for her career first win. I couldn't be happier for her."
Bridge fired a final-round 68, a career low, to capture the individual crown by one stroke over Madison Isaacson out of Western Carolina. Bridge is the first Eagle to become an individual medalist since last October (2021) when Haley Yerxa won the 44th Annual Pat Bradley Invitational.
Heading into Tuesday's action, Bridge sat tied for fifth on the player leaderboard. She began her final round with four straight birdies to surge up the leaderboard, making the turn at 2-under for the day.
Bridge shot even par on the back nine to close the event at 1-over-par. The Collierville, Tennessee native carded a 211 three-round score (70-73-68), carding two at or under-par rounds. She sank a field-leading 13 birdies.
Bridge's 211 tied the seventh lowest 54-hole total in program history.
As a team, FGCU held steady Tuesday to finish second, shooting a final-round 290. The Eagles fell short of event champion Western Carolina by seven strokes (858). FGCU's 865 marked the fourth lowest 54-hole team total in school history.
The Green and Blue opened the event with a 284, tying the eighth lowest team round. FGCU led the nine-team field in total made pars (175).
Lousiane Gauthier (Uruguay) also shined in Jupiter and finished sixth at five-over (215), Gauthier improved eight spots Tuesday behind her even-par 70, a career low, en route to a career-best finish.
A trio of Eagles finished in the top 25 to round out the starting five. Leonie Wulfers (Germany) and Grace Rigby-Walden(England) placed tied for 16th, and Posie Farrelly (Lutz, Fla.) finished tied for 25th.
Both Rigby-Walden and Wulfers posted career low rounds (70s) in the opening action on Monday. Walden's career-best finish helped to pace the field in made pars (41) while Wulfers (37) was third in the category.
FGCU will be back on the links Oct. 15-17 at the Pat Bradley Invitational, hosted by FIU from Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
EAGLE STARTING FIVE
1 Anna Claire Bridge 70-73-68 | +1 | 211
6 Lousiane Gauthier 71-74-70 | +5 | 215
T16 Leonie Wulfers 70-74-77 | +11 | 221
T16 Grace Rigby-Walden 73-70-78 | +11 | 221
T25 Posie Farrelly 73-77-75 | +15 | 225
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 Western Carolina +18 | 858
2 FGCU +25 | 865
3 Troy +26 | 866
4 Stetson +38 | 878
5 UNCA +45 | 885
6 Seminole State +51 | 891
7 Jacksonville +52 | 892
8 FAU +69 | 909
9 Lamar +76 | 916
For complete coverage of the women's golf program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WGOLF, on Facebook at /fgcuwgolf and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCUwomen's golf or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
COACH SYKORA
After a highly successful decade leading Barry University, Shannon Sykora was named the FGCU women's golf head coach on June 16, 2022. During his career with Barry, the Buccaneers won the 2017 NCAA Division II National Title, while finishing runner-up in 2014 and placing third in 2013 and 2022. Sykora led Barry to 28 tournament wins in his decade as head coach including four Division I tournament victories. He has produced five WGCA All-America First Team selections, nine WGCA Scholar All-Americans, one honorable mention All-American, the 2013 NCAA Division II Individual National Champion, and the only D-II player to compete in the inaugural Augusta Women's Amateur.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
