March 18, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Home course advantage? You bet.
Playing on its home track for the first time this year, the Auburn women's golf team put up its second-lowest round of the season Sunday, shooting 285 (-3) in the first round of the Evans Derby Experience at Auburn University Club.
Led by a 3-under-par 69 from senior Michaela Owen, the 27th-ranked Tigers are tied for third place in a field that features four top-10 teams and six top-25 squads.
"Today was a day for our players to play our home course in a complete different atmosphere," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "I thought they handled themselves very well as shown by solid scoring from all eight players. They all battled at times and made a lot of birdies. I felt like we could have managed a couple of holes better, but overall it was a solid start to the tournament."
Owen's 69 was her low round of the season and her sixth round under par this year. Starting on the 10th hole, she went birdie-bogey at 12 and 13, but was bogey-free the rest of the way with birdies at 15, 16 and 2. She is in a four-way tie for fifth place after 18 holes of play.
A pair of Auburn individuals not playing as part of the counting five also came in under par. Freshman Julie McCarthy and sophomore Kayley Marschke both carded rounds of 1-under 71 and are tied for 13th. McCarthy led Auburn with six birdies on the day; she was 3-under at the turn but dropped two shots on her second nine to finish with her first round under par as a Tiger. Marschke carded five birdies, including two in her final four holes to finish off her third round under par this year.
Three more Tigers finished at even par for the day. Senior Kelli Murphy, sophomore Elena Hualde and freshman Kaleigh Telfer shot 72 to have all four counting scores at par or better. Hualde made four birdies on the day; Murphy had a two-birdie, two-bogey round, and Telfer had three birdies on the day. All three are tied for 22nd place.
Freshman Mychael O'Berry shot 73 (+1), and junior Melanie Talbott finished with a 77 (+5).
Florida State shot 278 (-10) to grab a two-stroke lead after one round. Arkansas is two shots back at 8-under, and the Tigers are tied with Duke for third at 3-under. Arkansas' Maria Fassi shot an 8-under-par 64 and leads the individual race by three shots.
With inclement weather expected Monday afternoon, the teams will begin play at 8:30 a.m. Monday with a shotgun start in foursomes. Auburn's team will play alongside Florida State, Arkansas and Duke beginning on holes 1-6. Admission is free for all fans; live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
First-round results from the Evans Derby Experience, hosted by Auburn at the Auburn University Club (par 72, 6,280 yards) in Auburn, Ala.:
Team Standings
1. Florida State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 278 (-10)
2. Arkansas ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 280 (-8)
T3. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 285 (-3)
T3. Duke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 285 (-3)
5. South Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 286 (-2)
6. Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 288 (E)
7. Florida ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 292 (+4)
8. Wake Forest ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 293 (+5)
9. Louisville ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 295 (+7)
10. Ole Miss ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 297 (+9)
T11. Mississippi State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)
T11. Michigan ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 302 (+14)
Auburn Individuals
T5. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 69 (-3)
*T13. Julie McCarthy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 71 (-1)
*T13. Kayley Marschke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 71 (-1)
T22. Elena Hualde ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 72 (E)
T22. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 72 (E)
T22. Kaleigh Telfer ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 72 (E)
T33. Mychael O'Berry ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 73 (+1)
*T55. Melanie Talbott ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77 (+5) *Played as individual; score does not count toward team total