Oct. 23, 2009
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Auburn junior Cydney Clanton carded five birdies Friday in the first round of the NCAA Fall Preview, finishing the day in a tie for third with a 2-under-par 72 as the third-ranked Tigers completed the first round in sixth place with an 11-over-par 299.
Hosted by the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, the NCAA Fall Preview is a 54-hole tournament being played at the par-72, 6,325-yard Country Club of Landfall Pete Dye Course, the site of the 2010 NCAA Championship. The three-day tournament features nine teams ranked in the GolfWorld top-10 and 17 ranked in the top-25.
""We had a couple tough breaks today and a couple good breaks, as well," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "We lost a lot of ground on the last three holes. We had some really good things going up until then, but this is a tough golf course. This is a true championship golf course and you have to make sure you finish out here."
Starting the day on the No. 10 tee, Clanton picked up only one birdie on the back nine but collected four on the front, including a stretch of three between Nos. 3-6. The Concord, N.C., native finished the day in a tie for third with Wake Forest's Cheyenne Woods, the niece of PGA TOUR golfer Tiger Woods.
"Cydney played really well today, she has been playing well all season," said Evans. "She had only one three-putt today and really looked good out there."
Arizona State's Carlota Ciganda and Alabama's Camilla Lennarth finished the day in a tie for the lead at 4-under 68.
Following Clanton in the Auburn lineup was freshman Carlie Yadloczky in a tie for 25th with a 2-over-par 74. The Casselberry, Fla., native had a rough start to the day with a bogey on the first hole and a double-bogey on the third, but she played the remaining 15 holes at 1-under to finish the day at 2-over.
Senior Candace Schepperle, a Birmingham native, was third on the team with a 3-over-par 75, tying for 36th overall. Patricia Sanz followed with an 8-over 80 to tie for 68th while Haley Wilson rounded out the lineup with a 10-over 82, tying for 78th in the 90-player field.
Southern California finished the day with a 5-stroke lead, taking first place with an even-par 288. UCLA and top-ranked Arizona State followed in a tie for second with 5-over 293s. Duke finished the day in fourth with an 8-over 296 while Alabama finished in fifth with a 10-over 298.
The Tigers finished in sixth place with an 11-over 299 while Virginia (300), Denver (301), Michigan State (301) and Purdue (302) round out the top 10.
"We had some good things happen today, but we have a lot of work left to do," said Evans. "Almost every team in this field is ranked in the top 25 and this is a tough golf course, so there is not a lot of room for error. We just need to come back tomorrow and take care of our business."
Action in the tournament will continue Saturday with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Auburn is set to tee off from 8:15-8:51 a.m. off the No. 1 tee with Duke and Alabama.
Fans can follow all the action with live scoring at www.GolfStat.com.
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- First-round results from the NCAA Fall Preview hosted by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington at the Country Club of Landfall Pete Dye Course. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,325.
TEAM RESULTS
1 - Southern California - 288 (E)
T2 - UCLA - 293 (+5)
T2 - Arizona State - 293 (+5)
4 - Duke - 296 (+8)
5 - Alabama - 298 (+10)
6 - Auburn - 299 (+11)
7 - Virginia - 300 (+12)
T8 - Denver - 301 (+13)
T8 - Michigan State - 301 (+13)
10 - Purdue - 302 (+14)
T11 - Pepperdine - 303 (+15)
T11 - New Mexico - 303 (+15)
13 - Wake Forest - 304 (+16)
T14 - Georgia - 305 (+17)
T14 - Oklahoma State - 305 (+17)
16 - LSU - 307 (+19)
17 - North Carolina - 308 (+20)
18 - North Carolina-Wilmington - 317 (+29)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T3 - Cydney Clanton - 70 (-2)
T25 - Carlie Yadloczky - 74 (+2)
T36 - Candace Schepperle - 76 (+4)
T68 - Patricia Sanz - 80 (+8)
T78 - Haley Wilson - 82 (+10)