AUBURN, Ala. – It's been nearly seven months, but the Auburn women's golf team will make its return to the course this week at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Tigers saw their season canceled last March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no Evans Derby Experience, no SEC or NCAA championships. But as they prepare for the 2020-21 season to tee off, last season is a constant reminder of how appreciative they are to be playing golf again.
"It's super special," junior Mychael O'Berry said. "We're all excited. I felt like we were kind of on a good roll last year in the spring and obviously for it to get cut short – everybody is in the same boat – but that just gives us even more motivation and drive."
"We've gone through adversity," added head coach Melissa Luellen. "Things were really ramping up and we were playing well and so excited to finish strong, and then it got taken away from us and everybody else. We've had a few challenges along the way just getting here. So just the fact that we're headed to Arkansas is very exciting. The girls have been playing a lot, we've been qualifying a lot. We're excited to go."
The Blessings Collegiate Invitational is a mixed event featuring all 14 of the men's and women's teams from the Southeastern Conference. The three-day event begins Monday from the Blessings Golf Club (Par 72, 6,171 yards), the same golf course where the Auburn women made the semifinals at the NCAA championships in 2019.
Four of the five players from that 2018-19 team will be in the lineup this week with O'Berry, fellow juniors Kaleigh Telfer and Julie McCarthy, and sophomore Brooke Sansom.
"We have some pretty good memories from this golf course," O'Berry said. "But it's just a matter of looking past that. It's a new year, that was two years ago. We just have to come out with a strong mindset and focus on what we can control."
The four returners from Auburn will be joined by freshman Ashley-Sinclair Curtis, who will be playing in her first collegiate event. All five players will play in the same group.
The Tigers will tee off Monday at 11:46 a.m. CT from the first hole. Golf Channel will provide live coverage of the event for all three rounds from 2:30-6:30 p.m. CT. Live scoring can also be found on Golfstat.com.