Oct. 24, 2008
AUBURN - The No. 12 Auburn women's golf team carded a 10-over-par 298 in the first round of the Auburn Derby Invitational Friday, holding on to third place out of the 17-team field as the tournament heads into the second round.
The Derby is taking place at the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala. The par-72 course is playing at 6,301 yards for the 54-hole tournament.
Three Tigers finished in the top 20 after the first round of play, keeping the Tigers within reach of first-round leader Virginia. Junior Candace Schepperle led the Tigers with a 1-under 71, finishing in fifth place after the first round. She was followed by Cydney Clanton, who is in a tie for eighth with a 1-over 73, and Sarah Thead, who finished the day in a tie for 20th with a 3-over-par 75.
"I think we did well as a team considering the weather conditions were not as great as we would have liked," said Schepperle. "We knew we wanted to have a steady start today and I think we did that."
Friday's rainy weather conditions played havoc with the playing schedule as the first round, originally slated to start with tee times at 8 a.m., was moved to a 12 p.m. shotgun start. But, even with the changes, Schepperle said it is something the team is accustomed to on its home course.
"We are used to days like this," said Schepperle. "We play in a lot of bad weather in college golf, but it is nice being on our home course. It is a course we know well, and it's always fun to play a big tournament like this at home."
Auburn head coach Kim Evans chimed in along with Schepperle that the team is used to playing in rough conditions on its home course.
"The weather didn't really affect us too much," said Evans. "A few people had a bad start, but for the most part, we were prepared for this. We have played here and we have certainly played in some rough weather this year. I think it was a solid start for us and we are going to build on it and stay positive throughout the tournament."
With five of Auburn's six players posting scores in the 70s on Friday, Evans said she was able to take several positives out of the round.
"We had a lot of ups and we had a lot of downs, but I really felt good about today and I saw a lot of good things," said Evans. "For our team, this season is a journey for us and this is definitely a big part of that journey and we definitely want to take this tournament, but this is a journey to see how much better we get by the end.
"We keep progressing and we put a new player in the lineup in Madison Overbey and she had a pretty good round. We had some tough conditions but Candace Schepperle and Cydney Clanton continue to shine. Sarah Thead had a really good round going but then had a little misfortune on one hole. All in all we are just going to look at this as another part of our journey and hope we get stronger as this tournament goes on."
Also scoring for Auburn was freshman Madison Overbey as she carded a 7-over-par 79 to come in a tie for 46th. Fellow freshman Patricia Sanz rounded out the Auburn lineup in a tie for 69th as she posted a 10-over 82.
Senior Mariana Macias is competing this weekend as an individual and finished the first day in a tie for 46th with a 7-over-par 79.
Auburn currently stands nine strokes behind first-round leader Virginia. The Cavaliers carded a 1-over-par 289 to take the first-round lead. Alabama trails in second place with a 6-over 294. Arizona State trails Auburn in fourth place with a 12-over 300 while OIe Miss rounds out the top five with a 17-over 305.
Individually, Virginia's Whitney Neuhauser took the first round lead as she came into the clubhouse with a 3-under-par 69. Alabama's Brooke Pancake, Arizona State's Anna Nordqvist and Furman's Jackie Hilea trails by a stroke at 2-under 70. Schepperle finishes off the top five at 1-under-par 71.
Action in the Derby Invitational is set to continue with tee times at 8:30 a.m., Saturday off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at the Auburn University Club. Fans can follow all the action live at www.GolfStat.com.
AUBURN, Ala. -- First-round results from the Derby Invitational hosted by Auburn University at the Auburn University Club. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,301.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 - Virginia - 289
2 - Alabama - 294
3 - Auburn - 298
4 - Arizona State - 300
5 - Ole Miss - 305
6 - Tulane - 307
7 - Georgia - 308
8 - Furman - 309
9 - South Carolina - 310
10 - Florida State - 310
11 - Central Florida - 310
12 - Kansas - 311
13 - Mississippi State - 312
14 - Louisiana State - 314
15 - Kentucky - 315
16 - Tennessee-Chattanooga - 317
17 - Coastal Carolina - 324
TOP-20 INDIVIDUALS AND AUBURN PLAYERS
1 - Whitney Neuhauser, Virginia - 69
T2 - Anna Nordqvist, Arizona State - 70
T2 - Jackie Hilea, Furman - 70
T2 - Brooke Pancake, Alabama - 70
5 - Candace Schepperle, Auburn - 71
T6 - Mayule Tomimbang, Central Florida - 72
T6 - Azahara Munoz, Arizona State - 72
T8 - Jennie Arseneault, Virginia - 73
T8 - Helena Blomberg, Alabama - 73
T8 - Emily Powers, Kansas - 73
T8 - Calle Nielson, Virginia - 73
T8 - Cydney Clanton, Auburn - 73
T13 - Courtney Harter, Alabama - 74
T13 - Megan McChrystal, Louisiana State - 74
T13 - Erika Thornton, Mississippi State - 74
T13 - Lene Krog, Virginia - 74
T13 - Carolina Andrade, Georgia - 74
T13 - Mallory Hetzel, Georgia - 74
T13 - Ashlee Rose, Kentucky - 74
T20 - Janine Fellows, Tulane - 75
T20 - Lauren Cousart, Florida State - 75
T20 - Dori Carter, Ole Miss - 75
T20 - Mallory Batson, Mississippi State - 75
T20 - Sarah Thead, Auburn - 75
T46 - Madison Overbey, Auburn - 79
T46 - Mariana Macias*, Auburn - 79
T69 - Patricia Sanz, Auburn - 82
* - Playing as an individual