Florida golfer Paula Francisco wins SEC title, Gators' first since 2016

Florida golfer Paula Francisco prevailed during Sunday's SEC Championships to become the Gators' first individual winner since Maria Torres in 2016.

Francisco parred the final hole - a daunting 397-yard par-4 - to cap a 3-under 67 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. She finished the tournament at 8-under 202 and two shots clear of Texas A&M’s Vanessa Borovilos and three others.

“It’s just something that you dream of, something that you work for all year,” Francisco said. “It’s just such an exciting thing.”

A junior from Spain, Francisco began the day three shots off the 36-hole lead of Ole Miss’ Mary Miller, who carded a 2-over 72. Francisco bogeyed the second hole, but birdied Nos. 5, 7, 13 and 17.

Borovilos also birdied the par-4 17th hole but bogeyed the No. 18 hole to finish 6-under, tied for second place with Miller, Texas’ Farah O’Keefe and Tennessee’s Madison Messimer.

By earning her second collegiate title, Francisco, who won the Gators Invitational in March, became the eighth Florida women’s golfer to win the SEC’s individual crown.

Ranked No. 11 in the nation, Franscisco finished seven shots ahead of top-ranked Maria Jose Marin of Arkansas, who recently won the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur. O’Keefe is ranked second, Mississippi State Avery Weed, who finished seventh Sunday, is No. 4 nationally and Borovilos ranks 13th.

“It’s probably one of the best fields we play all year,” Francisco said. “You know that coming in. I think that the excitement I played with today helped me be more focused and more intentional with all my shots.”

Francisco’s performance included bogey-free play on the course’s back 9 each round Friday-Sunday on the 6,103-yard, par-70 layout. Her play helped carry the Gators, ranked third nationally, to the top of the leaderboard after 54 holes of stroke play.

A season after Florida finished as runner-up to South Carolina, the top-seeded Gators will hold the No. 1 spot when match play begins Monday as they seek the school’s first SEC title since 2017.

“We’ve been the one seed before,” longtime coach Emily Glaser said. “It starts all over.”

Florida entered Sunday 5-under and five shots behind Texas, but the Longhorns were 7-over Sunday while Florida was 4-under - a round bettered by only Missouri (6-under).

Oklahoma was three clear of Florida after 36 holes, but finished 5-over Sunday. Leading the Gators by a shot after Saturday’s round, Vanderbilt was 9-over during the final 18 holes.

“We have a very unselfish group who has really continued to lift each other up all year,” Glaser said. “They’re competing against each other at home and trying to get in the lineup and just handle that really maturely, which is why you can see them be successful in moments like that.”

Virginia graduate transfer Megan Propeck matched Francisco’s closing 67, despite a bogey at 18. Propeck finished the tournament 3-under and tied for eighth.

Sophomore Siuue Wu shot an even-par 70, with a triple-bogey 7 on the final hole. True freshman Katelyn Huber’s 72 was the fourth score to count among the five-player lineup. the Gainesville native finished the week 2-over and tied with Wu and others in 24th place.

Francisco’s showing, though, stood out from the rest. After the performance, Glaser reflected on her decision to leave home for Gainesville, where she has steadily developed into one of the nation’s top players.

“I’m not often one who probably makes big, over-the-top statements, but I would be lying if I said this wasn’t one of the proudest moments of my coaching career,” Glaser said. “Just knowing how Paula got to Florida; her evolution over the last three years. It’s incredibly rewarding. It’s not shocking, because I just know how good she is and always knew the future was going to be right for her.

“You just never know when things are going to go your way.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 4:08 PM.