May 9, 2017
ATHENS, Ga. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Auburn carded nine birdies over the final five holes of Tuesday's second round at the NCAA Women's Golf Regional, moving up to a tie for 11th place through 36 holes at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
The Tigers improved by seven shots from their first round with a 298 (+10), moving them to 27-over after 36 holes and tied with Central Florida and Princeton for 11th place.
"I'm very pleased with how we fought today," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "The stats were pretty crazy for our last nine holes. We finally learned how to make birdies. The last three holes (7-9) are your chance to kind of make up for earlier in the round, and we took advantage. It's nice to be able to finish on a strong note, and that will hopefully carry over to the next day.
"Tomorrow, everyone could go out and have their best round of the year. In team competition, it can really change in a hurry, especially at regionals. We'd really love to post a great finishing round."
Freshman Elena Hualde birdied four of her final five holes to overcome a slow start and finish with an even-par 72, Auburn's best round of the week so far. She had a chance to go even lower after her second shot at the par-five ninth (her 18th of the day) left her with a 10-foot putt for eagle, but she settled for a tap-in birdie and an even-par finish. Hualde is tied for 26th place individually at 3-over for the tournament.
Junior Kelli Murphy and freshman Kayley Marschke both improved by two shots over their first-round total; Marschke posted a 74 (+2) and Murphy finished with a 75 (+3). The two combined to play their final six holes at 3-under; Murphy made birdies at the sixth and ninth holes, and Marschke carded her second birdie of the round at the seventh.
Sophomore Mai Dechathipat made five birdies and shot 77 (+5), a five-shot improvement over her first round, and junior Michaela Owen was bogey-free over her final eight holes to post a 77 (+5).
After making just eight birdies over the first 27 holes of the tournament, the Tigers poured in 11 birdies in their final nine holes of the second round. As a team, Auburn was 3-under on the back nine, including a 7-under stretch over the final five holes.
Alabama leads the tournament at 3-under, followed by Baylor (+2), Michigan State (+5), Clemson (+10), Northwestern (+12) and Tennessee (+12). The top six teams advance to the NCAA Championship. Wake Forest's Jennifer Kupcho continues to lead the individual race at 6-under.
Auburn's final round of the NCAA Athens Regional begins at 6:30 a.m. CT Wednesday on the 10th tee where the Tigers will play with North Carolina and Princeton. Live scoring is available at golfstatresults.com, and fans can follow @AuburnWGolf on Twitter for updates.
Second-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. Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 573 (-3)
2. Baylor ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 578 (+2)
3. Michigan State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 581 (+5)
4. Clemson ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 586 (+10)
T5. Northwestern ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 588 (+12)
T5. Tennessee ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 588 (+12)
7. Georgia ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 592 (+16)
8. Arizona ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 595 (+19)
9. Augusta ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 596 (+20)
10. North Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 599 (+23)
T11. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 603 (+27)
T11. Princeton ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 603 (+27)
T11. UCF ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 603 (+27)
14. Kansas State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 607 (+31)
15. Wake Forest ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 610 (+34)
16. Troy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 613 (+37)
17. North Florida ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 618 (+42)
18. Quinnipiac ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 649 (+73)
Auburn Individuals
T26. Elena Hualde ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 75-72=147 (+3)
T39. Kayley Marschke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 76-74=150 (+6)
T46. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77-75=152 (+8)
T64. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77-77=154 (+10)
T84. Mai Dechathipat ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 82-77=159 (+15)