Rainy weekend weather in Athens forced the 37th annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic to cancel the first two rounds of the three-day invitational at the UGA golf course, setting up an unusual 18-hole tournament format on Sunday.

Unfortunately for the Georgia women’s golf team, which was attempting to defend last year’s championship, the two days away from the links robbed them of momentum. Georgia got off to a slow start on its opening nine before rallying on the back nine to finish in a tie for sixth at 17-over-par.

Conference foe Auburn won the title at 11-over-par.

“I think a lot of us got off to a slow start but finished well,” senior captain Mallory Hetzel said. “It was just a one-day tournament. We were six back, but if we had two or even one more day, I’d like our chances. Eighteen holes is a sprint, so if you get off to a slow start it’s really hard to catch up.”

Coach Kelley Hester was proud of the way her team responded to their slow start.

“Well, we struggled a little bit today, but the conditions were hard and they did OK. We finished sixth but we were only six shots out of the lead,” Hester said. “With a one-day tournament, there’s such a small margin for error, and I think the kids probably put a lot of pressure on themselves but in the end, they did OK.”

Hetzel’s round epitomized the team’s day. After opening the round with four straight bogeys, she rallied to play the final 14 holes in 1-under-par, finishing in a tie for 13th with a 3-over-par score of 75 – the best round of the day for Georgia.

“I got off to four bogeys in a row, and I wasn’t nervous or anything,” Hetzel said. “I just felt really out of sync with my swing and my tempo, and I kind of had some in between shots not to mention the first four holes are probably the hardest.”

Carolina Andrade and Marta Silva Zamora continued their steady play with top 20 finishes. Junior Leigh Crosby was a bright spot on the day with a 6-over-par 78 to finish in a tie for 39th.

“Well, I was proud of Leigh Crosby who has struggled of late,” Hester said. “She shot a 78 today, which doesn’t seem like a crazy great score, but Leigh has really struggled recently, and we worked on some things and she incorporated them and actually turned around even par and was able to hit a lot of good shots and contributed.”