Oct. 2, 2016
CHARLESTON, S.C. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Bolstered by three eagles on the final hole, the Auburn women's golf team charged up the leaderboard into a tie for fourth place Sunday in the first round of the Cougar Classic.
A combined 7-under-par effort from juniors Michaela Owen and Kelli Murphy helped the Tigers to a team score of 284 (-4), tying them for fourth place in the 21-team field through 18 holes at Yeamans Hall Club. Auburn is six shots behind leader Furman (-10) and three behind second-place North Carolina (-7).
"Solid start," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "We focused on a strong finish during the practice round and carried it over to today. Michaela hit all 18 greens, and Kelli had a great ball-striking day and hit 16 greens."
Auburn took advantage of a pair of reachable par-5s on the back nine, carding three birdies at the 444-yard 15th and then closing with eagles from Owen, Murphy and freshman Kayley Marschke at the 460-yard 18th.
"The mindset on the reachable par 5s on the back nine is to play them as par 4s," Luellen said. "I like the mentality of this team. They are coming together as a group really well."
Owen turned in her best collegiate round by two strokes with her score of 68 (-4) that put her in a tie for third place. An opening birdie gave way to nine straight pars, then a bogey at the 11th brought her back to even. But she went birdie-par-birdie-eagle to finish with a bac-nine 33 and a round of 4-under for the day.
Murphy, meanwhile, equaled the best round of her collegiate career and is tied for sixth place after a 69 (-3). She had two birdies and two bogeys over the first 10 holes, but played the final eight holes in three under with a birdie at 15 and eagle at the 18th.
Sophomore Mai Dechathipat turned in a 1-over 73, and freshmen Elena Hualde and Kayley Marschke posted matching 74s. Dechathipat, Hualde and Marschke combined for eight birdies and an eagle on the day.
Auburn will again be paired with Furman and NC State for Monday's second round and will get underway at 8:30 a.m. CT off the first tee. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com, and fans can follow @AuburnWGolf on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the weekend.
First-round results from the Cougar Classic, hosted by College of Charleston at Yeamans Hall Club (par 72, 6,224 yards) in Charleston, S.C.
Auburn Individuals
T3. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 68 (-4)
T6. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 69 (-3)
T36. Mai Dechathipat ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 73 (+1)
T51. Kayley Marschke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 74 (+2)
T51. Elena Hualde ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 74 (+2)
Team Standings
1. Furman ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 276 (-10)
2. North Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 281 (-7)
3. Wake Forest ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 282 (-6)
T4. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 284 (-4)
T4. UCF ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 284 (-4)
T6. Michigan ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 285 (-3)
T6. NC State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 285 (-3)
8. Florida State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 286 (-2)
9. South Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 288 (E)
10. Louisville ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 289 (+1)
T11. Penn State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 291 (+3)
T11. Chattanooga ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 291 (+3)
13. Maryland ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 292 (+4)
T14. Arkansas ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 293 (+5)
T14. Clemson ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 293 (+5)
16. Mississippi State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 296 (+8)
17. Charleston Southern ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 298 (+10)
T18. Wisconsin ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 301 (+13)
T18. Indiana ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 301 (+13)
T20. Coastal Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)
T20. College of Charleston ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)