March 14, 2010
NEW ORLEANS - After carding 4-over 76s in the first two rounds, Auburn senior Candace Schepperle put it together in the final round, coming into the clubhouse with a 5-under-par 67 to lead the No. 3 Tigers to a final-round even-par 288 and the team title at the Tiger/Wave Golf Classic at English Turn Golf Club in New Orleans, La.
Hosted by LSU and Tulane, the Tiger/Wave Classic was a 54-hole tournament played at the par-72, 6,132-yard English Turn Golf & Country Club, the former home of the PGA TOUR's Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The three-day tournament featured 23 teams from around the country, nine of which are ranked in the GolfWorld top-25.
The win is the second of the season for the Tigers and comes just a week after the first victory. Auburn won the one-day Auburn Invitational last Sunday with a team-total 294.
Auburn entered the day with a share of the lead, ending the second round in a tie with co-host LSU. The Tigers answered the challenge with their best round of the tournament, and the third-lowest of the event to take a seven-stroke victory over their nearest competition.
"We had a really good day today and yesterday," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "I could not be more pleased with how the team stepped up and found a way to win."
All five players on the Auburn roster scored at least two rounds in the tournament with the top three posting four rounds at even-par or better.
"It was a great team effort today," said Evans. "They did what they had to do to get it done against some really strong teams. I could not be happier with this win. Today we had two birdies and an eagle on 15 that gave us a charge to finish it up strong."
After 12 holes, Auburn was still tied with LSU with Texas Christian sitting just one stroke behind. The Tigers responded with eight birdies and an eagle by junior Cydney Clanton on the final six holes to pull away for the win.
Clanton entered the day in a tie for the individual lead and maintained her pace on the front nine with an even-par 36. She dropped a pair of bogeys early on the back nine, but responded with an eagle on No. 15 and birdies on two of the final three holes to finish the day at 1-under 71. She finished the event in third place with a tournament-total 1-under-par 215.
While Auburn as a team did its damage on the back nine, Schepperle started the day on a quick start with five birdies on the front nine to make the turn with a 5-under 31. She carded a pair of birdies along with a couple bogeys on the back nine to finish the day at 5-under 67. After starting the day in a tie for 16th, she moved up to fourth with a tournament-total 3-over-par 219.
"Candace was phenomenal today," said Evans. "She put together what she has been really close to doing for a while. Cydney had another great round and was in it there at the end. I'm very proud of both of them."
Sophomore Haley Wilson struggled on the front nine, carding four bogeys and a double-bogey to make the turn at 6-over 42. She tallied one more bogey on the back before carding back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to finish the day at 5-over 77. She gave Auburn three players in the top 25 as she finished in a tie for 24th with an 11-over-par 227.
Freshman Carlie Yadloczky posted the third-best round for the Tigers on Sunday with a 2-over 72. She carded three bogeys in the first 10 holes, but finished strong with two birdies in the final five holes. She finished the tournament in a tie for 53rd with a 16-over-par 232.
Rounding out the Auburn lineup was sophomore Patricia Sanz with a 4-over-par 76. Sanz was 1-over-par through 14 holes, but dropped a bogey and a double-bogey in the final four. The sophomore still finished with her best round of the tournament and finished in a tie for 64th with a 20-over-par 236.
"Patty came out today and played really well," said Evans. "Haley played really well yesterday and had a good round today. Carlie did a good job down the stretch today and got a really good score for us."
Also playing in the tournament was sophomore Madison Overbey, competing as an individual. She carded a final-round 80 to finish the tournament in a tie for 90th with a 25-over-par 241.
In the team race, TCU finished seven strokes behind Auburn with a 32-over-par 896 with Alabama one stroke behind in third with a 33-over 897. Co-host LSU finished fourth with a 37-over 901 while Virginia rounded out the top five with a 38-over 902.
Individually, LSU's Megan McChrystal took medalist honors with a 3-under-par 213. Virginia's Calle Nielson finished second with a 2-under 214, followed by Auburn's Clanton in third and Schepperle in fourth. LSU's Tessa Teachman placed fifth overall with a 4-over-par 220.
The Tigers will take the next week off before returning to action at the Liz Murphey Classic, an event the Tigers won last season.
"We are excited about the win and are excited about preparing for our next tournament," said Evans. "We go to Georgia next and there is always a tough field at that tournament, so we will have to get back to work right away."
The tournament runs from March 26-28 at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.
NEW ORLEANS -- Final results from the Tiger/Wave Classic hosted by LSU and Tulane at English Turn Golf & Country Club. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,132.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3 - Cydney Clanton - 73-71-71--215 (-1)
4 - Candace Schepperle - 76-76-67--219 (+3)
T24 - Haley Wilson - 78-72-77--227 (+11)
T53 - Carlie Yadloczky - 81-77-74--232 (+16)
T64 - Patricia Sanz - 78-82-76--236 (+20)
T90 - Madison Overbey - 82-79-80--241 (+25)**
** - Competing as an individual
TEAM RESULTS
1 - Auburn - 305-296-288--889 (+25)
2 - Texas Christian - 305-298-293--896 (+32)
3 - Alabama - 293-315-290--897 (+33)
4 - LSU - 294-307-300--901 (+37)
5 - Virginia - 296-315-291--902 (+38)
6 - Tennessee - 305-311-289--905 (+41)
7 - Georgia - 307-313-286--906 (+42)
8 - North Carolina - 302-312-295--909 (+45)
9 - Wake Forest - 314-315-283--912 (+48)
10 - Ole Miss - 300-321-296--917 (+53)
11 - Vanderbilt - 303-325-291--919 (+55)
12 - Arkansas - 314-316-293--923 (+59)
13 - Notre Dame - 310-314-300--924 (+60)
14 - Purdue - 303-327-296--926 (+62)
15 - North Carolina State - 306-319-302--927 (+63)
T16 - Tulane - 305-327-300--932 (+68)
T16 - Furman - 305-334-293--932 (+68)
18 - Louisville - 312-317-304--934 (+70)
19 - College of Charleston - 313-318-304--935 (+71)
20 - Kentucky - 308-326-312--946 (+82)
21 - North Carolina-Wilmington - 323-324-314--960 (+96)
22 - Central Florida - 321-325-315--961 (+97)
23 - Mississippi State - 320-331-318--969 (+105)