Cyna Rodriguez pounced on Laetitia Beck’s shaky start to grab the lead then bucked a shaky windup to card a four-over par 74 and win the University of Florida Challenge by three strokes in Florida, USA Sunday.
The 17-year-old Rodriguez, one down at the start of the final round, opened up with four straight pars in biting cold at the par-70 Mark Bostick Golf Club then watched Beck drop three strokes on Nos. 4 and 5 to seize control en route to the victory.
Rodriguez, an ICTSI golf scholar who had one win and two third place finishes coming into the event, wound up with a 146 to pocket the girls 13-18 division title of the Laura Diaz FCWT (Future Collegians World Tour).
It was Rodriguez’s fourth triumph in the season following her victories in the Pacific Northwest Amateur, the Karambunai Amateur Open in Malaysia and FCWT Mission Inn.
Rodriguez actually faltered coming home under tough playing condition as she double bogeyed No. 14 and dropped two shots on Nos. 16 and 18.
But the rest of the field also struggled with the cold Florida weather with Beck, from Israel, limping home with a 78 for a 149.
Christina Miller of Florida wound up with a 77 and finished third with a 151 while Mia Piccio, Rodriguez’s teammate at the ICTSI golf stable, came in fourth at 152 after a 77.