April 7, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Starting the day eight strokes out of first place, the No. 6 Auburn women's golf team rallied back to tie for the lead and eventually win the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational team title in a sudden-death playoff. The Tigers shot the low final-round score of 22-over-par 302 to tie Duke, who had led the first two rounds of the tournament, forcing a playoff.
On the playoff hole, freshmen Patricia Sanz and Haley Wilson led the way with birdies while junior Candace Schepperle and sophomore Cydney Clanton carded pars. Sophomore Sarah Thead rounded out Auburn scoring on the hole with a bogey.
Duke countered with three bogeys, a birdie and a par, giving the Tigers the edge in the sudden-death playoff and their third tournament title of the spring season.
"I felt after last night that we should have done better. They came out this morning and got back in the hunt after the second or third hole, so they were keyed up for it all day and they just gutted it out," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans.
With winds gusting beyond 30 miles per hour throughout the tournament, scores across the board were high. Only two individual rounds throughout the 54-hole tournament were carded at even-par as the low team score in the tournament was an 18-over 298 by Duke in the first round.
"It is hard to let yourself believe that you can actually win when the scores are so high," said Evans. "But, whenever you post a low round of the day and you are a pretty good team, you have a chance."
While she was proud of the comeback by her team, Evans said the best part of the day was seeing her squad perform in the playoff and learning from the experience.
"The playoff was fun, at that point you have basically won the tournament, but the playoff solidifies it," said Evans. Every one of them contributed to the score. Whenever you win in crazy conditions like today, it is very difficult and it took all of us. They did a great job and responded after yesterday."
The SunTrust lady Gator Invitational was a 54-hole stroke play tournament that took place at the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida. The par-70 course played at 5,954 yards for the tournament.
AU finished the tournament at 73-over-par, improving each round of the tournament as it posted totals of 306-305-302-913. The Blue Devils took second place, also with a 73-over 913, with Georgia State just one stroke behind in third with a 914. SEC rivals Alabama and Florida round out the top five with tournament totals of 918 and 927, respectively. Florida, the tournament host, was also the defending champion.
Clanton led the Auburn resurgence on the final day, posting a 4-over-par 74 to finish tied for the low final round of the tournament.
She climbed 10 spots on Tuesday, going from a tie for 14th to finish the tournament in a tie for fourth. Clanton finished with a 54-hole total of 16-over-par 226.
Just one stroke behind her was Schepperle, who also climbed up the rankings as she moved from a tie for 14th to a tie for ninth. The Birmingham, Ala., native posted a 5-over-par 75 in the final round to finish with a tournament-total 17-over 227.
Auburn was the only team in the tournament field to place four players in the top 20 with freshmen Wilson and Sanz finishing T13th and T19th, respectively. Both started the day in a tie for 22nd, but Wilson carded her best round of the tournament with a 6-over-par 76 to finish the tournament at 20-over 230. Sanz, posting a 7-over 70 in the final round, finished just one stroke behind her in a tie for 19th with a 21-over-par 231.
Rounding out the Auburn lineup was Thead as she tallied a 16-over 86, finishing in a tie for 66th with a 35-over-par 245. Freshman Madison Overbey also competed in the tournament as an individual, tallying an 82 in the final round to finish in a tie for 41st with a 28-over 238.
The victory was the third of the spring season for Auburn after also taking the titles at the Central District Invitational and the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. The appearance in the Lady Gator Invitational is the first for Auburn since 2005 and marks the Tigers' second overall title in the tournament as it also won in 2001.
Duke's Amanda Blumenherst won the individual title with a 12-over-par 222. Georgia State's Charlotte Lorentzen and Washington's Molly Aronsson finished two strokes behind her in a tie for second with 14-over-par 224s.
The SunTrust Lady Gator was the final regular-season tournament for the Tigers. Auburn now prepares for the Southeastern Conference Championship
"We are pretty excited and we feel good about SECs. The great thing about this team is we still have a lot of work to do," said Evans.
"This golf course and these weather conditions pointed out a few things we need to work on before starting up SECs next week, we have to iron out a few rough spots. I think we are pretty lucky to have some of the conditions we played in and the wins, they better prepare you for what lies down the road."
The SEC Championships, set for April 17-19, will be at the University Club in Blythewood, S.C.