March 20, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Before Tuesday, Auburn sophomore women's golfer Kayley Marschke did not know what it felt like to make five birdies in a row. She does now.
A string of five straight birdies ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" six total on the opening nine to make the turn in 30 ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" led her to the Tigers' low round of the tournament Tuesday as she shot a 68 (-4) to lead Auburn in the final round of the Evans Derby Experience.
"That was a first for me," Marschke said of her hot start to the round. "It just felt super easy. When I woke up this morning I wasn't feeling well, so I thought I would just go out and have fun, and I did. It just felt easy, that's the only way I can describe it.
"It was definitely a huge advantage (to play at home). There's so much home-course knowledge that we knew that other teams didn't. The wind picked up a little bit (today) and we've played in this wind a lot, so that was a big advantage for us."
She was bogey-free through her first 16 holes, including five straight birdies on holes 2-6. She almost made it six straight at the par-5 seventh, but her birdie putt barely missed. Only a pair of bogeys on the final two holes as the wind picked up kept her from a career-low round. She finished in a tie for 12th place to share the team lead.
As a team, Auburn earned a fourth-place finish in their home event, shooting even par on the final day to finish at 1-under 863 for the week at the Auburn University Club. Even more impressive, the Tigers did that without Marschke's 12th-place score and final-round 68; Marschke was playing as an individual and did not count toward the team total.
"They're making it really difficult for me to determine who's going to be in my top five," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said, "which is a dream to have those challenges. I'm so proud of all of them. They were actually quite nervous coming into the tournament, trying to decide if (playing at home) was a threat or an opportunity. We worked through the threat part of it, and it became a great opportunity to play in front of their friends and family and a hometown crowd.
"Overall, the tournament was an amazing success. Our field was great, the scores were great, it was challenging for a lot, and I thought our team played solid. Very consistent. For us to finish in fourth place in a field like this is fantastic. That's what a home-course advantage does, and I think that Arkansas and Duke really taught us that we can play it better."
Sharing the 12th-place tie with Marschke was senior Kelli Murphy, who was steady all week to finish at 3-under par with scores of 72-71-70=213. Murphy was bogey-free through her first 12 holes and got to 2-under with birdies on the 12th and 13th. A bogey at No. 2 dropped her back to 1-under, but she finished strong with birdie on her final hole of the week to finish off her fourth top-20 showing of the season.
Senior Michaela Owen gave Auburn three players in the top 20 as she tied for 17th at 2-under 214. She posted rounds of 69-72-73 to earn her fourth top-20 of the year as well. Owen overcame a bogey and a triple with three birdies in her final round to finish just 1-over for the day.
Freshman Mychael O'Berry carded a final-round 72 to finish at 2-over par for the week and tied for 28th. Sophomore Elena Hualde and freshman Kaleigh Telfer finished one shot back of O'Berry at 219 (+3), tied for 32nd. Freshman Julie McCarthy shot a final-round 76 to finish in a tie for 38th at 222 (+6), and junior Melanie Talbott bounced back with a 75 (+3) in the final round to tie for 67th.
Auburn's final score of 863 (-1) marked its second time to finish under par for a tournament this season; the Tigers were 7-under at the season-opening Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville. It ties for the ninth-lowest 54-hole total in Auburn history.
Third-ranked Arkansas pulled away from the field to win by nine shots at 28-under 836; fifth-ranked Duke finished second at 19-under. The Razorbacks' Maria Fassi was the wire-to-wire individual medalist at 202 (-14), five shots clear of the field.
Auburn will conclude the regular season April 6-8 at the Bryan National Collegiate in Browns Summit, N.C.
Final results from the Evans Derby Experience, hosted by Auburn at the Auburn University Club (par 72, 6,280 yards) in Auburn, Ala.:
Final Team Standings
1. Arkansas ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 836 (-29)
2. Duke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 845 (-18)
3. Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 850 (-14)
4. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 863 (-1)
5. Florida State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 865 (+1)
T6. South Carolina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 866 (+2)
T6. Florida ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 866 (+2)
8. Louisville ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 876 (+12)
9. Wake Forest ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 880 (+16)
10. Ole Miss ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 888 (+24)
11. Mississippi State ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 911 (+47)
12. Michigan ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 913 (+49)
Auburn Individuals
T12. Kelli Murphy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 72-71-70=213 (-3)
*T12. Kayley Marschke ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 71-74-68=213 (-3)
T17. Michaela Owen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 69-72-73=214 (-2)
T28. Mychael O'Berry ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 73-73-72=218 (+2)
T32. Elena Hualde ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 72-74-73=219 (+3)
T32. Kaleigh Telfer ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 72-74-73=219 (+3)
*T38. Julie McCarthy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 71-75-76=222 (+6)
*T67. Melanie Talbott ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 77-83-75=235 (+19)
*Played as individual; score does not count toward team total