April 17, 2016
Senior Alex Harrell blasts out of a bunker on the 8th hole Sunday at the SEC Championship.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Senior Alex Harrell put together a solid round Sunday, leading Auburn in the final round of the SEC Women's Golf Championship.
Harrell, in her final round as a collegiate golfer, posted a 2-over-par 74 that included a team-best three birdies to lead the Tigers Sunday.
As a team, Auburn matched its first-round score with a 304 (+16) Sunday to finish 13th in the conference tournament with a total score of 919 (+55).
"They really wanted to have their best day today," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "When we played well this year, we played well at the same time. When we played bad, we played bad at the same time. That's the strangeness of an individual sport that you play as a team. But we've got a great group of young ladies.
"When you look back at the season, there were just so many wasted shots this year. The big numbers, they just add up so quickly. Just some basic mistakes. I've always been an advocate of lots of short-game work because it does save you, but when you're missing greens with wedges and 9-irons, your scoring clubsÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦ We sharpen those up, and instead of scrambling for pars and making bogeys, we're putting ourselves in position to make some birdies. It can be very subtle. It feels like it's so far away, but it can just be a few tweaks here and there."
Starting on the back nine, Harrell made the turn under par, getting to red figures with birdies at 16 and 18. Her approach at the 18th hit the flagstick and nearly went in for an eagle, but she was left with a tap-in for birdie. A tough finish with three bogeys over the final five holes left her at 2-over and tied for 40th in the final standings.
"I'm really proud of Alex," Luellen said. "This spring has been really tough on her. To balance what she does (as a nursing student) with being a student-athlete with clinicals and everything elseÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦ What Alex has been able to accomplish has been amazing."
For the week, sophomore Kelli Murphy posted the top score for the Tigers with a 226 (+10) to tie for 31st overall. In Sunday's final round, she recorded a 75 (+3) that also included birdies at 16 and 18. She then played the front nine at 1-over with eight pars and just one bogey at the par-4 seventh.
Sophomore Michaela Owen matched Murphy's Sunday score with a 75 (+3) of her own. She had one birdie on the day, coming at the par-4 12th, and like Murphy, she made eight pars and just one bogey on the second nine to close strong. Owen finished alongside Harrell in a tie for 40th. Freshman Melanie Talbott posted the Tigers' other counting score Sunday with an 80 (+8).
Alabama captured the SEC title at 5-under with Florida finishing runner-up at even par. Florida's Maria Torres was the individual medalist at 9-under with South Carolina's Katelyn Dambaugh taking runner-up honors at 7-under.
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Final results from the 2016 SEC Women's Golf Championship, played at the Greystone Golf & Country Club Legacy Course (par 72, 6,195 yards) in Birmingham, Ala.
Final Team Standings
1. Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 859 (-5)
2. Florida ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 864 (E)
3. Arkansas ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 882 (+18)
4. Texas A&M ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 884 (+20)
5. South Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 888 (+24)
6. Georgia ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 889 (+25)
7. Mississippi ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 894 (+30)
8. Tennessee ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 896 (+32)
9. Missouri ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 900 (+36)
10. Vanderbilt ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 905 (+41)
11. LSU ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 911 (+47)
12. Mississippi State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 914 (+50)
13. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 919 (+55)
14. Kentucky ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 921 (+57)
Auburn Individual Results
T31. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 74-77-75=226 (+10)
T40. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 76-78=75=229 (+14)
T40. Alex Harrell ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77-78-74=229 (+14)
T58. Clara Baena ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77-78-81=236 (+20)
69. Melanie Talbott ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 80-82-80=242 (+26)