AUBURN, Ala. – Five months ago, the Auburn women's golf team made a historic postseason run that culminated in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship. Though the Tigers fell short of the ultimate goal, that run earned them an invitation to play in this year's East Lake Cup.
"It's a reward for a great performance," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "It's pretty rare that you get to follow up on something that happened the previous season and to have it carry over to the new season. The girls played great last year at the national championship, and I think it's wonderful that the Golf Channel has created the event and given another opportunity to show college golf what we have to offer."
The East Lake Cup, which has quickly become of the premier events in college golf, begins Monday from the East Lake Golf Club (Par 72, 6,240 yards) in Atlanta and will feature the four semifinalists from both the men's and women's NCAA Championships last year.
On the women's side, Auburn will be joined by Arizona, Wake Forest and last year's national champion, Duke. All four teams are currently ranked in the top 25 in the WGCA's latest coaches poll with Wake Forest (4), Arizona (8) and Duke (11) all in the top 15.
At No. 25, Auburn might the underdog coming in, but this group is ready for the challenge.
"Last year we had a great year and obviously finished well in the final four, but this year we're still building that momentum to get back there," junior Mychael O'Berry said. "This tournament means a lot for us. We're all really excited to get to play at such a special place with some really good teams. Hopefully, we can go out there and get it done and win."
O'Berry is one of four golfers in Auburn's lineup this week that competed on last year's NCAA Championship team. The others include fellow juniors Kaleigh Telfer and Julie McCarthy, along with sophomore Brooke Sansom.
The lone newcomer for the Tigers is true freshman Megan Schofill, who earned the No. 1 spot in the lineup this week thanks to her spectacular play to start the season. Schofill has shot under par in six of her first nine rounds at Auburn and is coming off a second-place finish at the Magnolia Invitational where she finished at 8-under par.
The format for the East Lake Cup is unique in the fact that all four teams will play at least two rounds of match play following Monday's opening round of stroke play. First, it will be the semifinals on Tuesday, and then the two winners will face off Wednesday in the final.
"We embrace (match play)," O'Berry said. "We love it. It's so much fun, but it's so different from stroke play. Obviously, you're still playing the golf course, but it's a fun way to play that really helps you motivate your teammates. So we enjoy it."
Auburn is scheduled to tee off Monday at 9:55 a.m. CT for the opening round of stroke play. GOLF Channel will be airing live coverage of the event from 2-5 p.m. CT. Live scoring can also be found on Golfstat.com.
For Auburn fans in the area interested in attending the event, gates open at 9 a.m. local time. Click here to secure your complimentary ticket.