Auburn women's golf has a big lead heading into the third round.

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Tigers open up big lead following second round of NCAA Regionals

Jason Caldwell

13–17 minutes

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Auburn women's golf has a big lead heading into the third round.

AUBURN, Alabama—Led by freshman Anna Davis' 69 in round two and a seven-under finish as a team on the last six holes, the Auburn women's golf team has a commanding lead heading into Wednesday's final round of the Auburn Regional after the Tigers fired the best round of the day (287) to finish at +1 overall. Coach Melissa Luellen's team leads second-place Houston by 14 shots and North Carolina by 15 shots after 36 holes, thanks in large part to the strong finish.

"I was looking at the live scoring and North Carolina was having a day," Luellen said. "They were six-under on the back nine, which the played first. We were playing okay, had some stumbles, but all of the sudden we started having birdies and eagles and caught fire. It was really fun."

While Auburn was tearing up the back side at Auburn University Club to finish with a flurry, on the front side it was very different for North Carolina. Making the turn at -6 as a team on the day, the Tar Heels fell victim to the finish on the front nine to take what was once a close race and turn it into a runaway.

Finishing on the front nine, North Carolina played its last six holes at +9. A race that was tied at one point in the day with both teams +6, in the span of six holes Auburn made up 16 shots on its closest competitor to take a comfortable lead into the final day.

"I think this is an opportunity to win by a bunch," Luellen said. "I really believe this team has been capable of that. We did win one tournament this spring, but as we talked about we're trending up and everyone is playing good at the right time. I would really like to have a round under par tomorrow and really finish strong just to set the tone for the next tournament."

Following the lead of teammate Megan Schofill on Monday, who eagled the par-5, 16th hole on the way to a 69 in the first round, Davis followed suit on Tuesday. Following a birdie on 15 to get back under par for the day, Davis made an eagle of her own on the 16th to give her a tie for the low round of the day.

"Usually the play there is to get it somewhere around the front of the green," Davis said of the strategy at 16. "I just hit a five iron (220 yards) and got it onto the front edge. I made a bomb, I think 65 feet or something, so it was nice. It was a good day to end off the round."

In addition to the 69 from Davis, Auburn got a round of two-under 70 from Casen Weidenfeld while Schofill fired a round of 73. Anna Foster carded a 75 while Katie Cranston's 77 finished off the day for the Tigers.

With Davis leading the charge, Auburn's round of 287 (-1) was the best of the day. The Tigers head into the final round paired with Houston and North Carolina with Oregon (+19), Georgia (+20), Tulsa (+20), South Carolina (+22), Miami (+35), Michigan (+38) and East Tennessee State (+42) rounding out the Top 10. The top five finishers after 54 holes advance to the NCAA Championships.

REGIONAL LEADERBOARD

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theplainsman.com

Tigers, Schofill lead Auburn Regional after day one

4–5 minutes

Hosting its first cross-team tournament since the 2019 regionals, Auburn women’s golf leads after the first of three days of its NCAA regional with a combined team score of 290 (+2). The Tigers lead one-seed South Carolina by three strokes with two more rounds to play at the Auburn University Club. 

“We're preparing for the national championship,” head coach Melissa Luellen. “And so really working on our mental toughness, continuing to build leads and just playing really good golf. We don't really care who's behind us. We just want to be up front.”

Megan Schofill stole the show with an eagle on the par five, hole 16 to ultimately put her at a final score of 69 (-3). Schofill was able to take advantage of the par fives with birdies on both front nine holes and a par on 13 before her three shot performance on 16. 

“Front left pin, that hole you really can’t land anything on the green so I had 215 (yards) and I hit a four hybrid which is like a 195 (yard) shot and probably one of my best shots of the day,” Schofill said of her second shot at 16.  “Right off the club face coach Kim really thought it was going to be good and it ended up turning out pretty perfect so I was very happy with that.” 

The final par five of the day was playing at a total of 496 yards with the green downwind causing most golfers to choose between either laying up or risk the ball rolling off the back of the green on their second shot. 

Schofill, however, was able to land the ball just at the front of the green and let it roll within 10 feet of the hole. She knocked down the eagle putt and finished with pars on the final two holes to end the day tied for the individual lead.

Megan Schofill makes the eagle putt on the par five, hole 16 to go to -3 on the day — which leads the tournament by two pic.twitter.com/FXkVkqZJjq

— Patrick Bingham (@PatrickABingham) May 6, 2024

“Some of these pin locations were really challenging today,” Schofill said. “Right on top of ridges and around the slopes but just having a lot of two putts and tap-ins for par is what you want and just makes it a stress free day.”

While Schofill was one of just seven players to shoot under or at par in the first round, the rest of Auburn’s squad was able to manage its home course well with both Anna Davis and Anna Foster just one shot over a piece. 

“How are all of these other teams gonna play our course? You know, because we know it's hard. We know it's challenging. But you always wonder, how are the other teams going to play it,” said Luellen. “It played tough. The hole locations were tough but the golf course was in really good condition.”

The Tigers are scheduled to tee it back up at 8 a.m. CST Tuesday, May 7 with the same pairings from Monday, two-seed South Carolina and three-seed Oregon, with the top three seeds holding the top three spots on the leaderboard following the first day.

Auburn will look to ride the momentum and stay in the top five of the regional to advance to the NCAA National Championship tournament. 

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Patrick Bingham | Sports Editor

Patrick is a sophomore from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.

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