PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. – Tied going into the last hole, Auburn junior Kaleigh Telfer made her par putt to clinch the individual championship at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on Tuesday.
Telfer, who shot a 71 (E) in the final round, led wire-to-wire through the three rounds and fended off a late rally from Duke's Miranda Wang to win the event. It's the second career tournament win for Telfer, who was co-champion at the Battle at the Beach last season.
"It's incredible," Telfer said. "I always say to myself a tied win is not an actual win, so I've always wanted to win outright. Obviously, it means a lot. And to do it the first tournament of the spring and get a kickstart, it's pretty exciting."
"Kaleigh played really solid golf," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "One of her focuses was to take her personality on the golf course. She has a fun personality and is pretty laid-back, and it was really great to see that on the golf course. She played beautiful golf on what was a really hard golf course."
Telfer made three birdies Tuesday and finished with a total of 12 birdies for the week. She missed tying the tournament's individual record score (-7) by one stroke.
With Telfer leading the way, Auburn finished ninth overall in a 16-team field that included 12 of the top 20 teams in the country. The Tigers closed out the tournament with a 291 (+7) in Tuesday's final round at the Palos Verdes Golf Club (Par 71, 6,017 yards).
"The team was only five shots out of the top five," Luellen said. "Yesterday's round really hurt, but overall, I think a top-10 finish in that field is terrific. We beat some teams ranked ahead of us, and so this tournament can only help us. It was a really good week in California."
Sophomore Brooke Sansom finished in a tie for 25th overall after shooting a 74 (+3) with four birdies in the final round. Sansom closed out the week at 6-over par.
Junior Mychael O'Berry made Auburn's only eagle of the week Tuesday with a 2 on the Par-4 14th hole. O'Berry matched her best round of the tournament with a 73 (+2) on the last day and finished in a tie for 44th on the individual leaderboard.
Duke won the event at 5-under par (847), followed by USC (854), Texas (855), UCLA (858), Arizona State (859), Kent State (868), Stanford (869), Wake Forest (870), Auburn (872), Oregon (876), Florida (883), Pepperdine (886), Washington (890), Arizona (890), Vanderbilt (904) and Ohio State (904).
Auburn will continue its spring season next week at the Lake Oconee Invitational in Eatonton, Georgia. The first round will tee off Friday, Feb. 21.
Team Standings
1. Duke -- 847 (-5)
2. USC -- 854 (+2)
3. Texas -- 855 (+3)
4. UCLA -- 858 (+6)
5. Arizona State -- 859 (+7)
6. Kent State -- 868 (+15)
7. Stanford -- 869 (+17)
8. Wake Forest -- 870 (+18)
9. Auburn -- 872 (+20)
10. Oregon -- 876 (+24)
11. Florida -- 883 (+31)
14. Pepperdine -- 886 (+34)
T13. Washington -- 890 (+38)
T13. Arizona -- 890 (+38)
T15. Vanderbilt -- 904 (+52)
T15. Ohio State -- 904 (+52)
Auburn Individuals
1. Kaleigh Telfer – 66, 70, 71 (-6)
T25. Brooke Sansom – 70, 75, 74 (+6)
T44. Mychael O'Berry – 73, 76, 73 (+9)
T56. Megan Schofill – 76, 77, 73 (+13)
T65. Kayley Marschke – 74, 79, 75 (+15)