Feb. 4, 2017
| 2016-17 Auburn Women's Golf - UCF Challenge | |
| Dates | Sunday-Tuesday, Feb. 5-7 |
| Location | Eagle Creek Golf Club | Orlando, Fla. |
| Host | UCF |
| Format | 54-hole medal play; four individual scores count toward team total |
| Field | Auburn, Clemson, Daytona State, East Carolina, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, Miami, Mississippi State, Old Dominion, SMU, South Florida, Texas, Tulane, UCF, UNCW, Wisconsin |
| Online | Live Scoring | Twitter: @AuburnWGolf | Auburn Season Stats |
| AU Tee Times | Sunday: 8 a.m. CT shotgun (paired with SMU and Mississippi State) Monday/Tuesday: 8 a.m. CT shotgun; pairings TBD |
| Auburn's Lineup | |
| Michaela Owen Junior Suwanee, Ga. (1) | Elena Hualde Freshman Pamplona, Spain (2) | Kelli Murphy Junior Elgin, S.C. (3) | Melanie Talbott Sophomore Suwanee, Ga. (4) | Clara Baena Junior Madrid, Spain (5) |
| Mai Dechathipat Sophomore Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. (Individual) |
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The second half of the Auburn women's golf season gets underway Sunday as the Tigers travel to Orlando, Fla., for the UCF Challenge, which runs Sunday-Tuesday at Eagle Creek Golf Club.
Auburn, ranked 38th by both Golfweek and GolfStat after the fall season, looks to continue its improvement after a strong performance in the first five events of the year. The Tigers finished in the top half of the field in all five fall tournaments, including two team runner-up finishes and five individual top-10 showings.
Junior Michaela Owen and freshman Elena Hualde, Auburn's top two scorers in the fall, hold the top two spots in the lineup this week. Owen was Auburn's top scorer with a 72.57 average and top-20 finishes in all five events. Hualde was right behind Owen with a 72.71 and won her first collegiate tournament at the Fall Kickoff in September. The two combined for 12 rounds at par or better in the fall.
Junior Kelli Murphy, sophomore Melanie Talbott and senior Clara Baena round out the starting five for the Tigers this week, and sophomore Mai Dechathipat will compete as an individual. Murphy had a strong fall, earning a runner-up finish at the Pinehurst Challenge and posting a 73.14 scoring average. Talbott is competing in her first event this year after recovering from injury in the fall, and Baena is making her second appearance in the Auburn starting five this year. Dechathipat played in four fall events, earning a top-20 at the Fall Kickoff.
Auburn joins Clemson, Daytona State, East Carolina, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, Miami, Mississippi State, Old Dominion, SMU, South Florida, Texas, Tulane, UCF, UNCW and Wisconsin in this week's field.
All three days will have a shotgun start at 8 a.m. CT. Auburn is paired with SMU and Mississippi State for Sunday's first round. Live scoring is available at golfstatresults.com.