Sept. 14, 2017
| 2017-18 Auburn Women's Golf | Event #1 | Mason Rudolph Championship | |
| Dates | Friday, Sept. 15-Sunday, Sept. 17 |
| Location | Vanderbilt Legends Club - North (Par 72; 6,451 yards)| Franklin, Tenn. |
| Host | Vanderbilt |
| Format | 54-hole medal play; four individual scores count toward team total |
| Field | Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona State, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Clemson, Houston, Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, Northwestern, South Carolina, UCF, Vanderbilt, Virginia |
| Online | Live Scoring | Twitter: @AuburnWGolf |
| AU Tee Times | Friday: TBD Saturday/Sunday: TBD |
| Auburn's Lineup | |
| Kelli Murphy Senior Elgin, S.C. (1) | Michaela Owen Senior Suwanee, Ga. (2) | Kayley Marschke Sophomore Suwanee, Ga. (3) | Elena Hualde Sophomore Pamplona, Spain (4) | Melanie Talbott Junior Woodstock, Ga. (5) |
AUBURN, Ala. -- The 42nd season of Auburn women's golf begins this weekend as the Tigers open 2017-18 in Franklin, Tenn., with the Mason Rudolph Championship.
The 54-hole event, hosted by Vanderbilt, runs Friday through Sunday at the par 72, 6,451-yard Vanderbilt Legends Club (North Course) just outside Nashville. It is Auburn's 11th appearance in the event; the Tigers had their best showing in the 2009 event, placing third.
"We consider this a 'major' championship with the field strength," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "Our lineup will be led by our two seniors, Kelli (Murphy) and Michaela (Owen). This team has a lot of experience so I expect to see great maturity on the course. The Legends Golf Club is a great course and our team loves it. Looking forward to seeing good golf."
Auburn's lineup will consist completely of returning players from last season. Seniors Kelli Murphy and Michaela Owen are in the top two spots, sophomores Kayley Marschke and Elena Hualde are playing in the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, and sophomore Melanie Talbott is Auburn's No. 5 for the week. The Tigers used the same five players in three events last year, including the SEC Championship.
Hualde was Auburn's top player last season, leading the Tigers with a 72.94 scoring average and earning SEC All-Freshman Team honors. She also picked up two wins, earning medalist honors at the season-opening Fall Kickoff and claiming first place at the Auburn-Tennessee Challenge. Owen and Murphy finished with identical 74.09 scoring averages last year and combined for three top-10 finishes.
Last year at the Mason Rudolph, the Tigers tied for fifth place in the 15-team field. Hualde led the way with a sixth-place finish at 4-under-par 210, and Owen tied for 18th at 219 (+3).
This year's field includes 10 teams that advanced to the postseason last year, including defending national champion Arizona State and national runner-up Northwestern. Five SEC schools are competing with Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina and host Vanderbilt joining the Tigers. Charlotte, Chattanooga, Clemson, Houston, Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, UCF and Virginia round out the field.
Tee times begin at 8:30 a.m. CT Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. Pairings and live scoring will be available at golfstat.com.
For the latest on Auburn women's golf, follow @AuburnWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.