BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It was another notable performance for the Auburn women's golf team and for Mychael O'Berry at the SEC Championship on Thursday.
Playing the second round of stroke play, O'Berry fired a career-low 66 (-6) with seven birdies, including four on the final six holes. She broke the Auburn record for low round at the SEC Championship and is now tied for the fifth-lowest round all-time in program history.
"Honestly, it was kind of all working for me today," O'Berry said. "You just have those days some days. There were two holes where I had to grind for par, but my mental game was solid today. I putted really well. It kind of all fit together finally."
O'Berry, a native of Birmingham, is now 8-under for the week and moved into a tie for second on the player leaderboard with the final round of stroke play Friday.
As a team, Auburn set a new low 18-hole round at the SEC Championship with a 278 on Thursday, breaking the record previously set during Wednesday's first round (279). Through the first two rounds, the Tigers are in third place at 19-under par.
"They just have this energy about them, and they're just so determined, Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "They were actually a bit dejected yesterday. They felt like they left a lot of shots out there. The golf course played different today, a little harder. They just played aggressive, assertive, made up their minds – I couldn't be more proud of them."
Sophomore Megan Schofill matched her career-low round at Auburn, shooting a 68 (-4) with four birdies on Thursday. At 5-under for the tournament, she is tied for 16th overall.
Seniors Kaleigh Telfer and Julie McCarthy both carded an even-par 72 in the second round. McCarthy made the team's only eagle of the week on the par-5 third while Telfer knocked in five birdies to follow up the 69 (-3) she shot Wednesday. Telfer is currently in a tie for 22nd while McCarthy stayed put in 44th place.
Senior Elena Hualde Zúñiga, who also shot a 69 (-3) in the first round, came back with a 73 (+1) in the second round Thursday and is tied for 30th individually through two rounds.
LSU took sole possession of the lead and is currently at 28-under par (548). The rest of the top 10 includes South Carolina (553), Auburn (557), Ole Miss (559) and Mississippi State (561), Arkansas (562), Vanderbilt (569), Alabama (569), Florida (571) and Tennessee (571). The top eight teams from the stroke play portion will advance to match play Saturday.
Auburn will play the final round of stroke play in the featured group with LSU and South Carolina beginning at 9:40 a.m. CT. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com.
Team Standings
1. LSU – 548 (-28)
2. South Carolina – 553 (-23)
3. Auburn – 557 (-19)
4. Ole Miss – 559 (-17)
5. Mississippi State – 561 (-15)
6. Arkansas – 562 (-14)
T7. Vanderbilt – 569 (-7)
T7. Alabama – 569 (-7)
T9. Florida – 571 (-5)
T9. Tennessee – 571 (-5)
11. Kentucky – 574 (-2)
12. Texas A&M – 583 (+7)
13. Missouri – 584 (+8)
14. Georgia – 588 (+12)
Auburn Individuals
T2. Mychael O'Berry – 70, 66 (-8)
T16. Megan Schofill – 71, 68 (-5)
T22. Kaleigh Telfer – 69, 72 (-3)
T30. Elena Hualde Zúñiga – 69, 73 (-2)
T44. Julie McCarthy – 73, 72 (+1)
O'Berry's 66 lifts Tigers into third at SEC Championship
