No. 7 Women’s golf leads after opening round of NCAA Auburn Regional

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 7 Auburn fired an opening round of 290 (+2) on Monday at the NCAA Auburn Regional at the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Alabama. The Tigers currently have the lead by three strokes over No. 2 South Carolina. Megan Schofill is tied for the individual lead after shooting 3-under (69) in the first round.

"The golf course was in really good condition," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said after the round. "I'm very proud of the AU club and Ryan, our superintendent. Their staff has worked hard the last three weeks and it's a championship golf course.

"I think on the back nine, there's some opportunity for scoring. You could see where South Carolina picked up some strokes on the last five or six holes and we did too. The front nine is a real beast. But, I think every day the scores should get a little bit better as you start to understand the course and get a feel for the greens."

Schofill's impressive opening round featured a couple of birdies on the front nine, but was highlighted by an eagle on 16, a par 5. With 215 yards into the hole following her drive, the fifth-year senior hit a hybrid to around 10 feet before sinking the putt. The round marked Schofill's 14th round under par this season.
 

🦅 An eagle for Megan Schofill on 16 🦅

That moves her to the individual lead at 3️⃣⬇️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/hT5Gr8U0EF

— Auburn Women's Golf (@AuburnWGolf) May 6, 2024

"I think we've just put in a lot of great preparation over the last couple of weeks and have playing a lot of golf out here," Schofill said after the round. "I'm really proud of myself and this group of girls because this is our first home tournament ever. It was a different feeling, but I think we rolled with the punches well today."

Senior Anna Foster picked up three birdies in her round before carding a 73 (+1) which places her inside the top-10, as she is tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard. Freshman Anna Davis mirrored her teammate by firing a 73 (+1) of her own on Monday. Davis fired her approach from around 120 yards on the ninth hole to within 10 feet to convert her only birdie of the day.
 

Anna Davis with a birdie on nine to make the turn at even par 🐤

Auburn is leading early at AU Club#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/xwbfEtDBLQ

— Auburn Women's Golf (@AuburnWGolf) May 6, 2024

Redshirt sophomore Casey Weidenfeld had a difficult start to her round after making the turn at 5-over, but bounced back on her back nine. Weidenfeld went bogey-free on the second nine with birdies on No. 11 and No. 15, which led to a 3-over 75.

Sophomore Katie Cranston also recorded a 75 (+3) on Monday in a round that included three birdies. Weidenfeld and Cranston are both in a tie for 20th place individually.

Auburn will begin the second round of the regional at 8 a.m. CT on Tuesday at AU Club. Fans are encouraged to attend the tournament at Auburn University Club where admission is free. Live scoring of the tournament will be available online at Golfstat.com.

"We're preparing for a national championship," Luellen said about the team's mindset heading into the second round. "We're working on our mental toughness, continuing to build a lead, play really good golf and just continue to build our confidence that we came in here. We don't really care who's behind us, we just want to be up front."

The NCAA Auburn Regional is one of six 54-hole regional competitions being played to determine the participants in the championship finals. The low five teams and the individual not on those teams will advance to the finals in Carlsbad, California.