ALBANY, Bahamas – Through round one of the Nexus Collegiate at Albany Golf Course, Auburn holds the team lead by eight shots over Wake Forest after shooting 288 (E). Auburn redshirt freshman Carys Worby tied for the individual lead in her first collegiate round after firing a 1-under 71 and four Tigers finished the round in the top-10 individually.
"A really strong opening round from our team," said a pleased Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen. "It's a tough golf course with strong winds today, so even par by the team was very impressive. I'm especially proud of Carys [Worby] and Katie [Cranston] for their good play in each of their first collegiate rounds!"
Auburn currently holds an eight shot lead over second place Wake Forest, the second ranked team in the nation by both Golfweek and GolfStat. The Tigers have a 14-stroke advantage over Arizona State, who is 13th in the nation according to Golfweek and GolfStat.
After making the turn at 1-over par, Worby's college golf debut was highlighted by a birdie on both the 11th hole and the 14th hole to give her a tie for the tournament lead.
"It was a fun day, but it was windy so I was pleased with the way I struck my irons," Worby said after the round. "I left myself in good positions to make pars as well as some birdies when the putts allowed."
Senior Megan Schofill and junior Anna Foster also had very impressive rounds, as both Tigers were just a shot behind Worby with an even-par 72. Schofill's round featured three birdies while Foster birdied three of the four par fives at Albany Golf Course. Both Schofill and Foster are in a tie for fifth place individually.
Freshman Katie Cranston, who was also making her collegiate debut on Monday, fired a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for ninth place individually.
Playing as an individual, freshman Sophie Anand recorded a couple of birdies in her hometown en route to a 76 (+4). Anand is in a tie for 19th in the field of 63, and is leading all 13 individual participants in the tournament.
On Tuesday, Auburn will be paired with players from Wake Forest and Duke beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring of round two will be available on Golfstat.com as well as the GolfStat mobile app.
Auburn Individuals:
| Placement | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | Carys Worby | 71 (-1) |
| T5 | Anna Foster | 72 (E) |
| T5 | Megan Schofill | 72 (E) |
| T9 | Katie Cranston | 73 (+1) |
| T19 | Sophie Anand (I) | 76 (+4) |
| T32 | Casey Weidenfeld | 78 (+6) |
| T35 | Elina Sinz | 79 (+7) |
| T42 | Rachel Gourley | 81 (+9) |
Team Leaderboard:
| Placement | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | 288 (E) |
| 2 | Wake Forest | 296 (+8) |
| 3 | Arizona State | 302 (+14) |
| 4 | LSU | 305 (+17) |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 306 (+18) |
| 6 | TCU | 308 (+20) |
| 7 | Minnesota | 309 (+21) |
| 8 | South Carolina | 310 (+22) |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 312 (+24) |
| 10 | Duke | 319 (+31) |