HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Freshman Megan Schofill, the individual winner at Auburn's last tournament, picked up right where she left off with four birdies and a first-round score of 71 (E) at Long Cove Club on Friday to open the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
Schofill is currently tied for third overall among players and paced the Tigers who are also in a tie for third on the team leaderboard at 10 over, seven shots back of the leader.
"Megan's 71 was full of good putting," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "A great round and even better that she had never played the course before. After not playing a practice round at the last tournament and a good start today, I'm thinking practice rounds are overrated.
"The five-hole stretch of 10-14 were our opening holes. We played awful on No. 10 and then rebounded and played pretty solid the rest of the day."
All five Auburn golfers are currently in the top 50 individually.
Junior Kaleigh Telfer is tied for 15th overall after shooting a 73 (+2) with a pair of birdies while senior Elena Hualde Zúñiga, who also knocked in two birdies, is one shot back following a 3-over 74 in the first round. Zuniga is in a tie for 21st.
Rounding out the Auburn contingent are juniors Julie McCarthy and Mychael O'Berry. McCarthy is tied for 42nd at 5 over, and O'Berry carded a 77 (+6) to put her in a tie for 48th.
Wake Forest leads the field at 3-over par (287), followed by UCLA (292), Auburn (294), Texas (294), Baylor (294), North Carolina (296), LSU (299), Duke (299), Arkansas (300), Vanderbilt (302), South Carolina (303), Furman (303), Florida State (304), Virginia (308), Alabama (311), Northwestern (311) and Georgia (311).
Auburn will be paired with the two leaders, Wake Forest and UCLA, for Saturday's second round. The group will tee off at 9:10 a.m. CT. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com.
"Tomorrow is moving day," Luellen said. "Expect the team to be ready for the challenge of Long Cove."
Team Standings
T1. Wake Forest – 287 (+3)
T1. UCLA – 292 (+8)
T3. Auburn – 294 (+10)
T3. Texas – 294 (+10)
T3. Baylor – 294 (+10)
6. North Carolina – 296 (+12)
T7. LSU – 299 (+15)
T7. Duke – 299 (+15)
9. Arkansas – 300 (+16)
10. Vanderbilt – 302 (+18)
T11. South Carolina – 303 (+19)
T11. Furman – 303 (+19)
13. Florida State – 304 (+20)
14. Virginia – 308 (+24)
T15. Alabama – 311 (+27)
T15. Northwestern – 311 (+27)
T15. Georgia – 311 (+27)
Auburn Individuals
T3. Megan Schofill – 71 (E)
T15. Kaleigh Telfer – 73 (+2)
T21. Elena Hualde Zúñiga – 74 (+3)
T42. Julie McCarthy –76 (+5)
T48. Mychael O'Berry – 77 (+6)