AUBURN, Ala. – A little over a year ago, the Auburn women's golf team finished second in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. It would be the last tournament they would play during the 2019-20 season because of COVID-19. The season was canceled shortly after.
This week, the Tigers are back in South Carolina for another tournament. It's not the Darius Rucker but rather the Gamecock Intercollegiate, a three-day event held March 1-3 at the Columbia Country Club (Par 72, 6,297 yards) in Columbia, South Carolina. The first round tees off Monday.
Auburn, ranked No. 11 nationally per Golfstat, is coming off a fifth-place performance at the Moon Golf Invitational in what was the team's first tournament of the spring.
"We did a better job of starting," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "That was kind of our nemesis in the fall – starting strong. We were a very good finishing team. We don't really have the opportunity to lollygag around (this week). We've got to start strong and try to lead the tournament from day one, and then just continue to give ourselves a chance to win the tournament."
The 18-team field at the Gamecock Intercollegiate includes 13 SEC teams as well as No. 1 Baylor, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 22 Duke, Furman and North Carolina. In all, there are 11 top-25 teams including three of the top five (No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 4 LSU).
The Tigers will feature four of the five golfers who played in the Moon Golf Invitational with seniors Mychael O'Berry and Kaleigh Telfer, sophomore Megan Schofill and freshman Elina Sinz all in the lineup this week. O'Berry, who finished tied for 12th individually at the Moon Golf, will move up to the No. 1 spot for Auburn.
The lone newcomer in the lineup is Brooke Sansom who will be making her spring debut. The junior will slide into third behind O'Berry and Schofill.
"Considering where we were last semester, this is something that we're all looking forward to," Sansom said. "I'm excited to be back. We're just going to go out there and try and win the day, just try to do as best we can and see where that takes us."
The first round begins Monday, and Auburn is slated to tee off at 8 a.m. CT. The Tigers will be paired with No. 7 Ole Miss and Furman. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com.
Auburn sets its sights on Gamecock Intercollegiate
