Auburn's Sophia Schubert wins Alamo Invitational

Oct. 28, 2014

Auburn's Sophia Schubert shot a final-round 65 to win the Alamo Invitational on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Jeff Huehn/UTSA)

SAN ANTONIO - Auburn freshman Sophia Schubert overcame a three-shot deficit over the final nine holes to claim a one-stroke victory at the Alamo Invitational, which concluded Tuesday at Briggs Ranch Golf Club.

For the day, Schubert shot a 7-under-par 65 to equal her opening-round effort for the second-lowest 18-hole score in Auburn history. For the tournament, she finished with a score of 65-74-65=204 (-12), the best 54-hole total in the 38-year history of Auburn women's golf.

"She played incredible that first day," Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. "Yesterday she played well with just the triple-bogey that cost her. It's tough to win a golf tournament with a triple. But she just played really solid. She never let up and methodically went through every shot, every inch of the way."

Schubert was three shots back of LSU's Caroline Nistrup as the two made the turn with Schubert at 8-under and Nistrup at 11-under. But Schubert made four birdies over the next seven holes while Nistrup finished with nine straight pars, giving the Auburn freshman from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, her first collegiate victory.

"The comeback was huge," Evans said. "It shows a lot of maturity for a freshman. Playing with two All-Americans, she showed a lot of poise to make that comeback. I'm really proud of the way she played, and I'm looking for more great things from her."

As a team, Auburn finished strong with a round of 8-under-par 280 and remained in third place at 14-under-par behind LSU (-23) and Arkansas (-16). The course yielded low scores across the board Tuesday as 10 of 15 teams shot under par in the final round. It marks Auburn's third top-four finish of the fall season.

Junior Alex Harrell contributed to the Auburn effort on Tuesday, posting a career-best 68 (-4). She was bogey-free with six birdies through her first 15 holes before her lone blemish of the day, a double-bogey at the 18th. Two pars at the first and second holes closed out her first round in the 60s as a Tiger.

"Alex had a great round today," Evans said. "She had one hiccup, but she came back strong like we needed her to. What hurt us as a team was the second day. We played great the first day and just couldn't follow it up. With the kind of field we had and the course playing under par today, we were just too far behind."

Auburn's team total of 850 was one stroke shy of tying the program record for the lowest 54-hole score in program history. Along with an 860 at the season-opening "Mo" Morial, Auburn has recorded two of the top four 54-hole totals in school history through the first four tournaments of the season.

Schubert's win was the second of the fall for Auburn individuals, alongside sophomore Clara Baena's tie for medalist honors at the season-opening "Mo" Morial.

"Overall, it was a great fall," Evans said. "We got two individual wins. We've got a lot of work to do to tap into that top 10 and really contend. This team reminds me a lot of the 2011 team that had four individual winners. I'd like to break that record and get five individual wins before heading into the postseason."

Sophomore Clara Baena tied for 15th at 2-under-par for her third top-20 finish of the season, and freshman Kelli Murphy tied for 21st after a closing 74 (+2) to finish at even par.

With the fall season complete, the Tigers will now turn their attention to offseason work before resuming the competition season in February. The team will return to action at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic Feb. 15-17.

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