May 8, 2017
ATHENS, Ga. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's golf team completed the first round of the NCAA Athens Regional on Monday and are tied for 13th place after 18 holes at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
The Tigers shot a team score of 305 (+17) and are tied with North Florida for 13th place in the 18-team field. Auburn and UNF are just one shot back of a tie for 11th and three shots back of a tie for ninth.
Short-game issues plagued the Tigers as birdies were tough to come by at the always-difficult UGA Golf Course (par 72, 6,344 yards).
"We just didn't make very many putts," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "I saw a lot of really good shots, we just didn't make very good putts. This isn't an easy golf course, but the greens weren't quite as fast as maybe we were expecting. We were just a couple of putts away from really changing the momentum of this round. I didn't see anything just awful, but we just needed to make a couple of putts."
Freshman Elena Hualde led the Tigers with a 3-over-par 75 that included 15 pars and three bogeys. A lipped-out par putt at the seventh hole ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" her 16th of the day ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" was the only blemish over her final 11 holes. She is tied for 30th place through one round.
Fellow freshman Kayley Marschke was one shot back with a 76 (+4). She had one of Auburn's five birdies on the day; hers came at the par-5 18th to bring her back to even par as she made the turn. But she found trouble on her second nine with four bogeys in a seven-hole stretch to finish the day at 4-over and in a tie for 38th place.
Juniors Michaela Owen and Kelli Murphy are tied for 54th after rounds of 77 (+5). Both players carded one birdie and six bogeys on the day. Sophomore Mai Dechathipat carded an 82 (+10) in her opening round.
Michigan State holds a five-shot lead after one round with a 284 (-4); the only team score under par for the day. Alabama, Georgia, Northwestern, Baylor and Tennessee hold places two through six; the top six teams after 54 holes advance to the NCAA Championship. Wake Forest's Jennifer Kupcho shot 68 (-4) to lead the individual standings after one round.
Auburn will begin its second round at 7:24 a.m. CT Tuesday, paired with North Florida and Wake Forest on the No. 10 tee. Live scoring is available at golfstatresults.com, and fans can follow @AuburnWGolf on Twitter for updates.
First-round results from the 2017 NCAA Athens Regional, hosted by Georgia at the University of Georgia Golf Course (par 72, 6,344 yards) in Athens, Ga.:
Team Standings
1. Michigan State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 284 (-4)
2. Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 289 (+1)
T3. Georgia ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 293 (+5)
T3. Northwestern ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 293 (+5)
5. Baylor ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 296 (+8)
6. Tennessee ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 297 (+9)
7. Arizona ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 298 (+10)
8. Princeton ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 300 (+12)
T9. Augusta ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)
T9. North Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)
T11. Clemson ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 304 (+16)
T11. UCF ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 304 (+16)
T13. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 305 (+17)
T13. North Florida ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 305 (+17)
15. Wake Forest ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 308 (+20)
16. Kansas State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 310 (+22)
17. Troy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 315 (+27)
18. Quinnipiac ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 333 (+45)
Auburn Individuals
T30. Elena Hualde ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 75 (+3)
T38. Kayley Marschke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 76 (+4)
T54. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77 (+5)
T54. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77 (+5)
T85. Mai Dechathipat ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 82 (+10)