Auburn women's golf releases 2017-18 schedule

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June 8, 2017

2017-18 Auburn Women's Golf Schedule

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The return of a home tournament for the first time in nearly a decade highlights the 2017-18 Auburn women's golf schedule, released Thursday by head coach Melissa Luellen.

"I really love our schedule," Luellen said. "It is always my goal as a coach to expose our players to great courses and great competition, and we have achieved that. Our team continues to improve, and we will have many opportunities to climb the rankings with our highly competitive schedule in 2017-18."

The Evans Derby Experience, named for former Auburn head coaches Kim Evans and Virginia Derby Grimes, will take place March 18-20, 2018, at the Auburn University Club, marking the first regular-season, full-field home tournament for the Tigers since the 2008-09 season.

"I promised Virginia Derby Grimes that we would bring a tournament back to Auburn so our student-athletes feel supported and provide a competitive advantage of playing at home," Luellen said. "Although I have only coached at Auburn for two seasons, I appreciate those who laid the foundation before me.

"I wanted to honor Virginia and Coach Kim Evans with the Evans Derby Experience which will be at our home course, the Auburn University Club. The field is confirmed and outstanding, which is a tribute to these two great coaches who have given so much to Auburn. This will be a great experience for the student-athletes, families and fans."

The season opens Sept. 15-17 at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn. The first of a pair of new fall events for Auburn runs Oct. 1-3 as the Tigers play in the Magnolia Cup, co-hosted by Mississippi State and Ole Miss, at Old Waverly in West Point, Miss. Auburn returns to the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational in San Antonio for the third time in four years Oct. 22-24, then wraps up the fall at the Cabo Invitational in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Nov. 3-5.

Spring play begins Feb. 4-6 at the UCF Challenge, followed by an individual event Feb. 12 at the Samford Spring Shootout in Birmingham. Auburn returns to the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate March 2-4 in Hilton Head Island, S.C. before preparing to host the Evans Derby Experience March 18-20. The regular season concludes April 6-8 at the Bryan National Collegiate just outside Greensboro, N.C.

The SEC Championship returns to Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham April 20-22. NCAA Regionals, set for May 7-9, will be hosted by Florida State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin. The NCAA Championship is May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.