BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The SEC Championship kicked off Wednesday, and the No. 14 Auburn women's golf team was up for the challenge. Picking up where they left off at the Clemson Invitational two weeks ago, the Tigers shot a first-round 284 (-4) to claim a share of the lead.
It was another strong start for sophomore Julie McCarthy, who leads the field after firing a 4-under 68 on Wednesday.
"It's brilliant for us," McCarthy said. "We had always wanted to start strong. We had the same idea at Clemson last week because we knew the weather was coming in, and so I think it's just a great start and we'll try to keep it going."
"Obviously a good start is really important," added Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen. "You don't want to be clawing your way back into the tournament. I feel like we kind of got the nerves out of the way. Now we've got two more days to try to win the stroke play portion and put ourselves in a good seeding for match play."
McCarthy finished the round with five birdies, including one on 14 where she sunk her bunker shot from the sand. The sophomore, ranked No. 4 in the country, has now shot par or better in nine of her 13 rounds this spring.
Teammates Elena Hualde Zúñiga and Kaleigh Telfer also opened the tournament in the red with a pair of rounds under par. Zúñiga hit 16 greens with two birdies and no bogeys to finish at 2 under where she's currently in a tie for fourth And Telfer is tied for sixth after closing her round with four straight birdies to finish with a 71 (-1).
Like Telfer, sophomore Mychael O'Berry found a groove on the front nine with three straight birdies. She carded a 75 (+3) and is currently tied for 36th overall. Rounding out the Auburn contingent is freshman Brooke Sansom, who shot a 79 (+7) and is tied for 63rd.
Auburn is tied with Florida (284) atop the leaderboard, and then it's South Carolina (287), Arkansas (291), Georgia (293), Mississippi State (294), Tennessee (294), Vanderbilt (296), Ole Miss (298), LSU (299), Missouri (299), Texas A&M (300), Alabama (301) and Kentucky (304).
Beginning at 9:40 a.m. CT on Thursday, the Tigers will tee off alongside Florida and South Carolina in the second day of stroke play. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com.
Team Standings
T1. Auburn -- 284 (-4)
T1. Florida -- 284 (-4)
3. South Carolina -- 287 (-1)
4. Arkansas -- 291 (+3)
5. Georgia -- 293 (+5)
T6. Mississippi State -- 294 (+6)
T6. Tennessee -- 294 (+6)
8. Vanderbilt -- 296 (+8)
9. Ole Miss -- 298 (+10)
T10. LSU -- 299 (+11)
T10. Missouri -- 299 (+11)
12. Texas A&M -- 300 (+12)
13. Alabama -- 301 (+13)
14. Kentucky -- 304 (+16)
Auburn Individuals
1. Julie McCarthy -- 68 (-4)
T4. Elena Hualde Zúñiga -- 70 (-2)
T6. Kaleigh Telfer -- 71 (-1)
T36. Mychael O'Berry -- 75 (+3)
T63. Brooke Sansom -- 79 (+7)