April 20, 2018
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ââ'¬" With a berth in the match-play portion of the 2018 SEC Women's Golf Championship on the line, Auburn put together its best SEC Championship round in six years Friday to tie for fifth place and earn the No. 5 seed in the weekend's match play.
Auburn, which entered the day in seventh place, shot 289 (+1) as a team on the final day to finish at 896 (+32) for the week, tied with Florida for fifth place and only one shot behind Georgia for fourth. The Tigers will face the Bulldogs in the 4-5 match Saturday in the quarterfinal round, beginning at 7:50 a.m. on the No. 10 tee.
"I'm just so proud of how they competed," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "They came out with a purpose, to hit fairways and hit greens and be very emotionally in charge. I think we accomplished that, and the results speak for themselves.
"(Match play) is a brand new tournament. We've had very little match play experience; we don't play a lot of match play in college golf. The times we have had match play (in past seasons) we've knocked off some really good teams. I think one through five we're pretty strong."
Freshman Kaleigh Telfer became the sixth Auburn freshman since 2000 to earn a top-10 finish at the SEC Championship, turning in a final-round 71 to finish at 218 (+2) and tied for ninth place. She was one of just two freshmen in the field to finish in the top 10.
"She was really prepared," Luellen said. "It was a tough decision to not take her to the last tournament. She's had some adversity she's had to fight through, but she is so coachable. Her demeanor from the fall, where she was down on herself, I didn't see that at all today. Her mentality is getting a lot better."
Telfer had a pair of birdies on the front to make the turn at 1-under, then got it to 3-under with birdies at 11 and 13. A double-bogey at the par-3 17th dropped her back to 1-under, but she finished strong with a par at 18 for her fourth round under par of the season. She is Auburn's first freshman to earn a top-10 SEC finish since Victoria Trapani tied for eighth in 2012.
She wasn't the only Tiger to finish strong. Senior Michaela Owen came through with a 71 (-1) of her own after struggling through the first two rounds. A chip-in birdie at the ninth got her back to even par as she made the turn, and a bogey at the 10th was followed by seven straight pars headed to No. 18. On what would be her final swing in SEC Championship stroke play of her career, she holed out from the fairway for eagle on the 18th hole to get back under par for the day and climb 22 spots on the leaderboard to a tie for 31st.
Not to be outdone by her classmate, senior Kelli Murphy rolled in a long birdie putt on the 18th to finish off an even-par 72 and tie for 21st. She shook off a tough start with a double-bogey at the first and played the rest of her round at 2-under with three birdies against just one bogey. It marked her best individual finish at an SEC Championship.
Sophomore Kayley Marschke made birdie at the last to finish with a 76 (+4), tying for 31st place, and freshman Julie McCarthy shot a final-round 77 (+5) and tied for 39th.
South Carolina was the top team through 54 holes of stroke play at 867 (+3), followed by Alabama (+8) and Arkansas (+11). The Gamecocks' Ainhoa Olarra took medalist honors after a two-hole playoff with Arkansas' Maria Fassi; both finished at 7-under.
The quarterfinal round of match play gets underway at 7 a.m. CT Saturday. The Auburn-Georgia winner will face the South Carolina-Missouri winner in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon; live streaming of the semifinals can be seen on SEC Network + beginning at 4 p.m. CT. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
Final stroke play results from the 2018 SEC Championship at Greystone Golf & Country Club ââ'¬" Legacy Course (par 72, 6,253 yards) in Birmingham, Ala.:
Team Standings
1. South Carolina ââ'¬" 867 (+3)
2. Alabama ââ'¬" 872 (+8)
3. Arkansas ââ'¬" 875 (+11)
4. Georgia ââ'¬" 895 (+31)
T5. Auburn ââ'¬" 896 (+32)
T5. Florida ââ'¬" 896 (+32)
7. Vanderbilt ââ'¬" 899 (+35)
8. Missouri ââ'¬" 907 (+43)
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9. Kentucky ââ'¬" 913 (+49)
10. Mississippi State ââ'¬" 915 (+51)
11. Ole Miss ââ'¬" 916 (+52)
12. Tennessee ââ'¬" 918 (+54)
13. Texas A&M ââ'¬" 923 (+59)
14. LSU ââ'¬" 927 (+63)
Auburn Individuals
T9. Kaleigh Telfer ââ'¬" 75-72-71=218 (+2)
T21. Kelli Murphy ââ'¬" 76-76-72=224 (+8)
T31. Michaela Owen ââ'¬" 80-78-71=229 (+13)
T31. Kayley Marschke ââ'¬" 76-77-79=229 (+13)
T39. Julie McCarthy ââ'¬" 79-76-75=230 (+14)
Quarterfinal Matches - Saturday, April 21
(2) Alabama vs. (7) Vanderbilt ââ'¬" 7 a.m. CT (#1 tee)
(3) Arkansas vs. (6) Florida ââ'¬" 7 a.m. CT (#10 tee)
(1) South Carolina vs. (8) Missouri ââ'¬" 7:50 a.m. CT (#1 tee)
(4) Georgia vs. (5) Auburn ââ'¬" 7:50 a.m. CT (#10 tee)