March 16, 2018
| 2017-18 Auburn Women's Golf | Event #8 | Evans Derby Experience | |
| Dates | Sunday, March 18-Tuesday, March 20 |
| Location | Auburn University Club (Par 72; 6,280 yards) | Auburn, Ala. |
| Host | Auburn |
| Format | 54-hole medal play; four individual scores count toward team total |
| Field | Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Wake Forest |
| Online | Live Scoring | Twitter: @AuburnWGolf | Auburn Season Stats |
| Podcasts | This Week in Auburn Women's Golf (3/6) | Evans Derby Experience |
| AU Tee Times | Sunday: 8:30 a.m. CT (#10 tee) Monday: TBD Tuesday: 8 a.m. shotgun |
| Auburn's Lineup | |
| Elena Hualde Sophomore Pamplona, Spain (1) | Kelli Murphy Senior Elgin, S.C. (2) | Michaela Owen Senior Suwanee, Ga. (3) | Kaleigh Telfer Freshman Kyalami, South Africa (4) | Mychael O'Berry Freshman Hoover, Ala. (5) | Julie McCarthy Freshman Swords, Ireland (Ind.) | Kayley Marschke Sophomore Suwanee, Ga. (Ind.) | Melanie Talbott Junior Woodstock, Ga. (Ind.) |
AUBURN, Ala. -- The decade-long wait is over.
After nearly 10 years since last hosting a full-field, regular-season event, the Auburn women's golf team will play host to the Evans Derby Experience, which runs Sunday-Tuesday at the Auburn University Club. Admission is free to all fans.
"It's going to be a great experience for everyone involved," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "Our players are very excited. They're excited for their family and friends to come and cheer them on. In our sport, we're on the road all the time. We haven't really played at home with this team ever. We've got a huge home course advantage because it's a really hard golf course. To play in your hometown and have support ... I really want to continue to garner and gather support for our women's golf team because we're moving up in the rankings and we want people to appreciate us."
Tee times begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday and Monday on the first and 10th holes. Tuesday's play will begin with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Auburn is slated for the 8:30 start time on the 10th tee for Sunday's first round.
Auburn will play nearly its entire roster in the home event. Sophomore Elena Hualde leads the way, followed by senior Kelli Murphy, senior Michaela Owen, freshman Kaleigh Telfer and freshman Mychael O'Berry. Competing as individuals will be freshman Julie McCarthy, sophomore Kayley Marschke and junior Melanie Talbott.
Fans will be able to enjoy free light refreshments at "The Loveliest Hospitality Village on the Plains," which will be located near the 17th green. From that vantage point, fans can also watch the play at the 16th green and the 14th tee. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.
One of the strongest fields in women's college golf will be on The Plains for the event. Four of the nation's top 10 teams and two more in the top 25 are part of the field that also includes seven SEC teams. Joining the 27th-ranked Tigers will be No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 5 Duke, No. 9 South Carolina, No. 12 Florida, and No. 22 Wake Forest. Louisville (26), Florida State (31), Ole Miss (41), Mississippi State and Michigan round out the field.
"Coming into this time of the year when you're preparing for the postseason, you want to play great fields and great golf courses," Luellen said. "And that's exactly what we're able to do. I'm very flattered that these teams would come to our event."
The tournament is named in honor of former Auburn women's golf coaches Kim Evans and Virginia Derby Grimes. Last played in 2008 as the Auburn Tiger-Derby Invitational, Luellen worked to reinstate the tournament and add Evans' name to the event to honor each of the previous two Tiger coaches.
"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 this is just my third season at Auburn, I appreciate those who laid the foundation before me. I wanted to honor Virginia and Coach Kim Evans with the Evans Derby Experience. The field is 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."
A 1981 Auburn graduate, Evans was Auburn's coach for 21 seasons from 1994-2015. She led the Tigers to eight SEC championships, 20 consecutive NCAA Regional appearances and seven top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship. In her 21 seasons, she led Auburn to 36 tournament victories and 96 top-three finishes in 223 tournaments. She coached seven SEC Golfers of the Year and saw her players earn 29 All-American honors.
Derby Grimes played at Auburn from 1985-86 and was the Tigers' head coach from 1991-94. She has been recognized as one of the world's top amateur women's golfers and was a member of the victorious 1998, 2000 and 2006 U.S. Curtis Cup teams. She will serve as the United States captain for the 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup matches. She was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.