AUBURN, Ala. – In the SEC, it just means more. It's no different this week with 14 women's golf teams converging in Birmingham for the SEC Championship.
No. 14 Auburn, who is coming off a second-place finish at the Clemson Invitational, is treating the tournament like any other event. The team has even dubbed it "The Birmingham Invitational." But they know what's at stake and what it would mean to win a championship.
"There's definitely a desire and a belief that they can do something pretty special this week if they just keep doing the same things that we've been doing," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "Very focused. Good mental game. And don't hit a shot until you're committed."
The tournament is scheduled to begin Wednesday morning from the Legacy Course at the Greystone Golf & Country Club (Par 72, 6,253 yards). It's the first of three days of stroke play, and then the top eight teams will advance to match play beginning Saturday.
Auburn is led by sophomore Julie McCarthy, the reigning SEC Women's Golfer of the Week and the 4th-ranked player in the country per Golfstat.
McCarthy will once again take the top spot in the lineup and is followed by fellow sophomore Mychael O'Berry, freshman Brooke Sansom and junior Elena Hualde Zúñiga. The fifth and final spot goes to sophomore Kaleigh Telfer, who is coming off a 12th-place finish at the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur.
The Tigers are seeking their 10th SEC title in program history and first since 2012. But it won't be easy against a field that includes six teams in the Top 25 and four in the Top 10.
"We've worked hard to build up to a point where we can really compete for a championship," Luellen said. "I think it will be a really fun week, and I think there will be great golf played. I really feel that we just have a very strong conference."
Auburn will be paired with No. 9 Florida and Ole Miss for the first round, and the first group will tee off at 8:50 a.m. on Wednesday. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com.