BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Auston Kim fired a 3-under-par 69 in the final round of stroke play at the SEC Championships on Friday to help the Vanderbilt women’s golf team advance to the match-play segment of the tournament being held at the Legacy Course at the Greystone Golf and Country Club.
Kim’s final-round score — her sixth of the season in the 60s and 11th at or below par overall — gave her a three-day even-par 216 total as she tied for sixth place in the individual standings. After making five birdies over the first two rounds of the tournament, the senior carded five on the last day of play highlighted by three in a six-hole span on the back nine.
“It’s nice to see Auston finish off her SEC Championship career with a top-10 finish,” said Commodore head coach Greg Allen. “I know she was really disappointed with how she finished her round yesterday, I really thought she may have a low round in her today. She’s playing really well now and I believe she can go out tomorrow and get us a point.”
Celina Sattelkau ended up in a tie for 15th with a 219 score after posting a 74 on the last day of stroke play, while Louise Yu shot an even-par 72 for the second straight day — including back-to-back birdies on her second and third holes of the morning — to tie for 26th individually with a 54-hole total of 222.
Tess Davenport was four shots behind Yu, tying for 45th place following a final-round 75, with Virginie Ding carding a 77 after entering the Commodore lineup for the last 18 holes.
Kim finished among the top 10 in the field in total birdies. Sattelkau was among the top five with a 4 under total on par-five holes while Yu was one of seven competitors to record a score below par on the course’s par fours.
Vandy’s 2-over-par 290 was the program’s low team round of the event, with the Commodores earning the seventh seed in the quarterfinals of match play after posting an 881 54-hole total. No. 20 Auburn took the top seed with an even-par 864 group score at the end of three rounds, two strokes better than 14th-ranked LSU and three shots ahead of No. 3 South Carolina. LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad held off Megan Schofill of Auburn by one stroke to claim individual medalist honors with a three-day 10-under-par 206 total.
Due to expected inclement weather, the final round of stroke play featured a shotgun start in the morning so that match play could begin in the afternoon. Seeded seventh in the bracket, all five of the Dores’ match-ups with No. 2 seed LSU made the turn before play was called due to darkness. The Tigers earned the first point after Carla Tejedo Mulet picked up a 4 & 3 victory over Davenport, pulling way with wins on Nos. 12, 14 and 15 to clinch the match, with four other points available when action resumes.
“I’m really proud of what we accomplished today,” Allen said. “We came down here wanting to make it to match play but we’re not content with just making it, we want to win. LSU came out hot early, but we’re hanging and I feel like we’re going to bed with a little momentum. Auston and Virginie have got to flip their matches in the morning, and Celina needs to finish hers off. We need Louise to fight and extend her match as long as she can.
“I really believe they can do it.”
SEC Quarterfinals Bound by Vanderbilt Athletics on on Exposure
