Sept. 13, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 6 Auburn women's golf team opened the 2010-11 season Monday, carding an 8-over-par 296 to rank 10th after the first round of the NCAA Fall Preview in College Station, Texas. Senior Cydney Clanton led the way for the Tigers, posting a 4-under 68 in the first round to tie for fifth.
Hosted by Texas A&M, the NCAA Fall Preview is a 54-hole tournament being played at the par-72, 6,271-yard Traditions Club at Texas A&M, the site of the 2011 NCAA Championship. The three-day tournament features nine teams ranked in the GolfWorld top-10 and 17 ranked in the top-25.
"We had some tough breaks today, but saw some good things as the day progressed," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "We had some holes on the front nine that gave us a little trouble, but I thought we handled the situation well. We have to make sure we do a better job of finishing when we come out tomorrow, you cannot leave strokes out there on a course like this."
The Southeastern Conference represented itself well on the first day of the Fall Preview, taking the top four spots with Auburn making it five teams in the top 10. Georgia is the first-round leader with an 11-under 277, followed by Vanderbilt (284), Alabama (286) and LSU (287). Southern California, the preseason No. 1-ranked team, rounded out the top five with a 1-over 289.
Duke and UCLA are tied for sixth at 293 with Tulane in eighth at 6-over 294. Wake Forest finished the first day in ninth with a 295 while Auburn rounded out the top 10 with an 8-over 296.
Individually, it was Clanton leading the way for the Tigers, carding five birdies with only one bogey for a 4-under 68 on the day. A native of Concord, N.C., Clanton took advantage of the par-3s, carding birdies on three of the four on the course to finish the day tied for fifth.
Alabama's Brooke Pancake is the first-round leader with a course-record 65, followed by Vanderbilt's Marina Alex (67), Georgia's Emile Burger (67), UCLA's Lee Lopez (67), Clanton and LSU's Megan McChrystal (68). In all, 20 players finished the day at par or better.
Finishing behind Clanton was fellow senior Karlin Beck, a native of Pike Road, Ala. Beck played near even-par most of the round, but a double-bogey on No. 17 proved costly as she finished the day in a tie for 40th with a 3-over 75.
Junior Haley Wilson followed in a tie for 51st with a 4-over 76. Junior Patricia Sanz and freshman Diana Fernandez rounded out the lineup for the Tigers with 5-over 77s.
Action in the NCAA Fall Preview continues at 8 a.m. CT, Tuesday with tee times off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Auburn will start the day in the first wave, taking off at 8 a.m. on No. 10, playing alongside host Texas A&M and Michigan State.
Fans can follow all the action with live scoring at www.GolfStat.com.
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS -- First-round results from the NCAA Fall Preview hosted by Texas A&M at the Traditions Club at Texas A&M. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,271.
TEAM RESULTS
1 - Georgia - 277 (-11)
2 - Vanderbilt - 284 (-4)
3 - Alabama - 286 (-2)
4 - LSU - 287 (-1)
5 - Southern California - 289 (+1)
T6 - Duke - 293 (+5)
T6 - UCLA - 293 (+5)
8 - Tulane - 294 (+6)
9 - Wake Forest - 295 (+7)
10 - Auburn - 296 (+8)
11 - Texas A&M - 297 (+9)
T12 - Michigan State - 299 (+11)
T12 - Texas - 299 (+11)
14 - Purdue - 300 (+12)
15 - Virginia - 301 (+13)
16 - Tennessee - 306 (+18)
T17 - Pepperdine - 307 (+19)
T17 - Stanford - 307 (+19)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T5 - Cydney Clanton - 68 (-4)
T40 - Karlin Beck - 75 (+3)
T51 - Haley Wilson - 76 (+4)
T67 - Patricia Sanz - 77 (+5)
T67 - Diana Fernandez - 77 (+5)