Auburn women's golf wins season-opening "Mo" Morial

Sept. 10, 2014

Auburn won its first team title since 2012 with a 13-shot victory at The "Mo" Morial. (Photo courtesy Texas A&M Athletics/Glen Johnson)

BRYAN, Texas - Sophomore Clara Baena tied for medalist honors and helped the Auburn women's golf team to its first tournament victory since 2012 as the Tigers won the 2014 "Mo" Morial on Wednesday at the Texas A&M Traditions Club.

Auburn recorded a final-round 282 (-6) as a team to finish at 860 (-4) for the tournament, 13 shots ahead of runner-up Florida State. It was Auburn's first finish under par as a team since the 2012 UCF Challenge.

"We needed this," Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. "This program just hasn't been right the last couple of years. We couldn't wait to get out there and make it right and play Auburn golf. It gets us excited for the next tournament."

The Tigers' overall score of 860 ranks as the third-lowest 54-hole total in program history (second-lowest on a par-72 course) and the best since the program-record score of 849 at the 2006 Lady Buckeye Classic.

"We started out today and lost a little ground," Evans said. "FSU and Texas A&M were playing really well on the front side. But we just kept anchoring down. We just had help from everyone. We got some great play from our freshmen. Jamie (Yun) did a great job shooting even par, Alex (Harrell) was great the first two days. It was a team effort. Just an overall great tournament. But we've got to get home and catch up on rest and school, then we leave for Nashville next week."

Baena fired a final-round 66, a career-best for the sophomore from Madrid, Spain, to finish with a 54-hole total of 209 (-7), tying Florida State's Kayla Jones for the individual tournament title. It was the first collegiate title of Baena's career and the 43rd in Auburn history.

"The way Clara played was just amazing," Evans said. "It was great to watch her play and experience it. She played like a champion. She did such a great job to get the co-champion (title). She played as strong as I've seen anyone play. In recruiting her, it was the kind of play we knew we would get. We didn't see it last year but knew she could do this."

Baena recorded seven birdies against just one bogey in her final round. Steady throughout the day with just the one blemish at the par-4 fourth, she carded four birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 3-under, then finished strong with birdies at 13, 17 and 18 to move to 7-under. Her birdies at the final two holes helped her keep pace with FSU's Jones, who also birdied 17 and 18.

Her closing 66 tied for the second-lowest 18-hole score in Auburn history. It was the sixth time an Auburn player has shot 66 and the first since Cydney Clanton did so at the 2010 NCAA Championship. Baena's total of 209 ties for the seventh-lowest in program history; Clanton was also the last to post that score at the 2010 Pac-10/SEC Challenge.

Freshman Sophia Schubert came through in a big way, carding a final-round 70 (-2) for her first round under par as a Tiger, earning a tie for fifth place. Like Baena, Schubert made bogey at the fourth hole but had a clean card the rest of the way with birdies at Nos. 9, 14 and 16 to finish at 218 (+2) for the week.

After a struggle in the second round, Jamie Yun found a way to post an even-par 72 to close out her first event of the year in roller-coaster fashion. The junior recorded five birdies, three bogeys and a double on the day. She birdied three holes in a row to move to 3-under through five, then finished her front nine with a double, a bogey and a birdie to make the turn at 1-under. Bogeys at the 11th and 14th moved her over par for the first time, but she found her way back to even with a birdie at the 16th.

Junior Alex Harrell earned her fourth career top-10 finish despite a final-round 78 (-6) as she tied for ninth place. And freshman Kelli Murphy turned in a closing 74 (+2) to finish in a tie for 12th in her collegiate debut.

The Tigers finished 13 shots ahead of Florida State, which posted an 873 (+9) for the tournament. Texas A&M was third on its home course with an 881 (+17).

This was the 36th tournament title for Auburn under Evans and the 41st overall in program history.

Auburn will be back in action Sept. 19-21 at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tennessee, hosted by Vanderbilt.

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*Competing as an individual