April 21, 2017
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Junior Kelli Murphy shot a 1-over-par 73 to lead the Auburn women's golf team Friday in the opening round of the 2017 SEC Championship.
As a team, the Tigers shot 300 (+12) and will be in the first group off the tee in Saturday's second round.
"Through 12 holes, we were about plus-three," head coach Melissa Luellen said. "Then we played the last six holes at 9-over par. Just not a very strong finish. We'll get to tee off first tomorrow with some calm conditions in the morning and have a chance to post a good round.
"I liked our team's attitude, they never gave up today. I think our wedge play could have been a lot better. We had a lot of wedges in our hands and didn't leave ourselves a lot of legit birdie chances. So that's something that can quickly change."
Murphy's round included four birdies, two on each side, and she played her final 13 holes at 1-under-par. After a rough start that included four bogeys in her first five holes, she would only card one more bogey the rest of the day along with birdies at Nos. 7, 12 and 18.
Freshman Kayley Marschke was one shot back of Murphy with a 74 (+2). After making the turn at 2-over, she briefly moved into red figures with three straight birdies on 10, 11 and 12. But a stretch of three straight bogeys on holes 14-16 dropped her back to plus-2.
Junior Michaela Owen finished with a 76 (+4), and freshman Elena Hualde and sophomore Melanie Talbott each carded a 77 (+5).
Texas A&M (-6) owns a one-shot lead over Arkansas (-5) after Friday's opening round. Three players are tied for the individual lead at 4-under.
Auburn will be paired with Missouri for Saturday's second round, which will get underway at 8 a.m. on the first tee. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
First-round results from the 2017 SEC Women's Golf Championship, hosted by the Southeastern Conference at Greystone Golf & Country Club ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Legacy Course (par 72, 6,202 yards) in Birmingham, Ala.:
Team Standings
1. Texas A&M ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 282 (-6)
2. Arkansas ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 283 (-5)
3. Florida ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 284 (-4)
4. South Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 286 (-2)
T5. Georgia ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 287 (-1)
T5. Tennessee ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 287 (-1)
T5. Vanderbilt ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 287 (-1)
8. Kentucky ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 291 (+3)
9. LSU ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 294 (+6)
T10. Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 295 (+7)
T10. Mississippi State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 295 (+7)
12. Ole Miss ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 296 (+8)
13. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 300 (+12)
14. Missouri ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)
Auburn Individuals
T27. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 73 (+1)
T36. Kayley Marschke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 74 (+2)
T52. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 76 (+4)
T60. Elena Hualde ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77 (+5)
T60. Melanie Talbott ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77 (+5)